Echoes
by kate657
Summary: He left her and their marriage to have a life with a woman he was seeing on the side. Now she’s about to crash back into his life with the other woman, bringing the chaos that her life has become along with her.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N**: Hey guys. Here's the first chapter of my new story, _Echoes_. Leave some words and enjoy. xxKatyxx

Summary: He left her and their marriage to have a life with a woman he was seeing on the side. Now she's about to crash back into his life with the other woman, bringing the chaos that her life has become along with her.

**Chapter** **One**

_The past_

Tree Hill, North Carolina

"Haley?" Nathan Scott called for his wife when he came home and found three suitcases stuffed to full capacity against the wall. A few minutes later, she came out of the bedroom and entered the kitchen without so much as a glance in his direction or any indication that she was aware he was home.

The hair on the back of his neck stood up as she turned to face him. Before her gaze would be warm and full of love but that was then. Now she wouldn't even look him in the eye; her gaze rested on his left shoulder and he could feel the sadness radiating off her. "What's this?" he asked, gesturing to the suitcases.

Haley took a deep breath and finally raised her gaze to his. "I've packed my things," she replied sadly.

"Why?" he asked.

"Why?" she repeated incredulously. His mouth parted as if he was going to say something but no words came to him. "I find divorce papers in your bag, then you tell me you're leaving me so you can be with her and you're wondering why I'm packing?"

"I meant why are you packing when I'm the one who's leaving you? You can have the apartment. I'll stay with my parents," he said.

"How generous of you," Haley remarked.

"I'm just trying to make this less harder for you," he said.

"Oh, really? So you think that living all alone in the apartment that we shared would be easy for me?" Haley shot back.

"I didn't think of that," he replied. Haley nodded to let him know that she was aware of that. "I just thought that since it's close to Duke, it would be convenient."

"Oh, so you're offering me the apartment because it's close to Duke?" she asked.

"Yeah," he replied.

"Well, then it's really unnecessary because I won't be at Duke," Haley replied.

"What?" he asked completely caught off guard.

"I'm going to Stanford," she added simply.

"Since when are you going there and not Duke?" Nathan asked. Haley grabbed a Coke from the fridge and opened it. She took a swig, then put it on the counter and shrugged at him.

"Well, I was only going to Duke for you so that you could go to the college that you wanted. Once again I gave up what I wanted in order to keep us together and since that's no longer an issue, why not?" she explained.

"Haley, don't feel like you have to leave Tree Hill because of me," he said.

"But I do, Nathan," she interrupted. He looked at her in confusion. "If you want to be with Rachel instead of me, that's fine. I'm not happy about it but I've accepted it."

"Haley," he started to say but she kept on going.

"But expecting me to stay here and watch you be with her is asking too much of me," she finished.

"I understand," he said agreeably. Her face darkened.

Haley was determined to make a clean break from Nathan because she had come to terms with the fact they were not going to be together anymore. Their marriage was over except for the paperwork, which was being filed in the morning by the mayor Dan Scott also Nathan's father.

She was hoping she could keep things civil so that she could leave with her dignity intact. She was not usually the type to lose her cool and get emotional or make scenes. Most of the time, she was able to keep her cool but the way he was acting was really starting to annoy her.

He wasn't being mean or indifferent- that she could live with but instead he was being nice; agreeing with her, trying to comfort her and apologizing to her in an attempt to keep from hurting her but he was only hurting her more with his kindness. It showed that he still cared about her, which did nothing but confuse her. If he cared about her so much why was he doing this to her? Why was he leaving her to be with someone who might as well be a stranger to him? Why was she being punished for his sins?

"Stop doing that," she ordered in an angry voice.

"What am I doing?" Nathan asked, replaying their conversation in his head.

"What I do with my life is none of your business anymore," Haley said.

"I'm only trying to support your decision," he pointed out.

"Well, don't because I don't want it!" she exclaimed.

"Then, what do you want?" he asked and then cursed himself for being so stupid.

"I want my life back!" she admitted in an angry scream. Her eyes watered and her usually calm and collected manner disappeared as tears poured out of her eyes.

"A week ago, I was happy and in love. Things made sense then and now I feel lost. I don't understand what I did to deserve this," she told him in between sobs. He came closer to her and put his hands on her shoulders.

"You didn't do a thing," he assured her.

"Then why am I the one in pain?" she demanded. He was searching for an answer to give her some peace but she didn't wait for it. She shoved him off of her and finally exploded. "This is _your_ fault. You're the one that cheated on me. You're the one that walked away from us. And yet somehow I'm the one that's suffering? Does that seem fair to you, Nathan? Do you think I deserve to be punished for your mistakes?"

"I never wanted to hurt you," he reminded her.

"Oh, well, then all is forgiven," Haley retorted.

"I know it's not much, Haley but it was never that I didn't love you because I do. I just," he started to say but shut his mouth as he realized what he planned to say would only make her angrier. Possibly turn her violent.

"You just what?" she prodded.

"I didn't plan on it. I wasn't looking for it," he quickly said.

"If you weren't looking for it then why did you go through with it?" she asked.

"I don't know why I did it. I just know that I developed feelings for her and it wasn't fair to stay with you knowing I cared for someone else," he said.

"But you still stayed with me. You continued seeing Rachel behind my back even though you knew it would kill me," Haley pointed out.

"I didn't want to hurt you. I never thought it would get serious with her but it did. I felt like I didn't have a choice at the time," he said.

"Don't give me that. There's _always _a choice. You could have told me that things weren't the same and that you didn't love me anymore," she said.

"But I did," he said.

"Don't interrupt!" she exclaimed. He bit his lip. "You could have done that but you didn't. Instead, you selfishly decided to have your cake and eat it too."

"No, that's not true," Nathan insisted.

"Don't talk to _me_ about _truth_! As if you know the meaning of the word," she said.

"Fine," he relented.

"If you had done the honourable thing, I would've been hurt- there's no denying that- but I'd like to think that in the end, I would have respected you for having the decency to be honest with me but you weren't. You lied to me. You shattered my world. You pulled the rug out from under me. You made me hate you," she said.

A horn honked from outside. They both turned and saw a yellow cab parked outside through the window. Haley swallowed all of her emotions down. She walked over to the door and picked up her suitcases. She was about to walk through when Nathan stopped her. "Don't go yet. I don't want to leave it like this," he pleaded.

Her throat constricted with pain and she almost gave in but then she remembered why this had all started. She turned to him and shook her head. "You should have thought about that before," she said and walked out the door and his life for the last time.

--

_The present_ (6 ½ years later)

Tree Hill, North Carolina

"Nathan!" Rachel Gatina exclaimed as she walked in the door of her boyfriend's house.

"Hey, honey," Nathan said as he came out of the kitchen to meet her. He pulled her to him and put his arms around her as much as he could as he hugged her.

They walked into the kitchen where she put her purse down on the counter and grabbed some ice cream. When her bowl was filled with chocolate mint ice cream, she found a spoon and joined him at the table. "How was your day?" he asked.

Her eyes narrowed. "I had to dodge reporters on the way out of the courthouse. Then a paparazzi followed me to the grocery store hoping to get a snapshot of me."

"Sorry," he said. He knew that Rachel hated the press as it was because she had to deal with them in most of her cases but they usually stayed out of her personal life. Their on-again-off-again relationship only added to her amount of press coverage.

"It's not your fault that those people can't get a life of their own. The guy was so hot for a picture that he blocked me in with his car," she said. His eyes widened and narrowed slightly at the same time. "I threw a bag of apples to get him to move it."

He chuckled softly. "You didn't knock someone unconscious again, did you?"

"Unfortunately, no," she replied.

"Good. The last thing my lawyers need is another assault case to deal with," he said.

Rachel shrugged carelessly. "That asshole is lucky I didn't run him over with my car after he blocked me in, never mind what damage the apples could have done to his face."

"Rachel, we've talked about this," he said.

"I know we have but talking doesn't make the migraines I get from flashes of cameras go away," she said.

"What if you get a chauffeur to drive you around in a limo and a bodyguard? The windows are tinted and you wouldn't have to deal with the press so much," he suggested.

"No way. I'm a grown woman and I can take care of myself," she said.

"The bodyguard would actually be protection for other people," he joked.

"I didn't hurt them… _much_," she argued.

"But you did hurt them," he said. She rolled her eyes. The doorbell rang a few times. They both turned to look in the direction of the door. She turned back to him. "Expecting someone?"

"I was just about to ask you the same thing," he replied.

"All the people we know are at work right now," she said as she started to get up to answer the door. He was already up and at the front door by the time she got out of her chair.

He opened the door and felt like someone punched him in the guts. The person on the other side was none other than Haley. Or at least he thought it was. She looked different. Her hair was dyed blonde, she was thinner and her eyes were darker than he remembered.

"What, don't I get a hug?" she asked and flashed him a mocking smile.

"What are you doing here?" he asked. Haley shrugged and then turned around. Nathan just noticed that there were two man dressed in black suits standing behind her. One was blonde and the other one had light brown hair.

"That's a good question. Why don't you tell him what I'm doing here?" she asked.

"Mr. Scott, do you mind if we talk about this inside?" the blonde asked as Rachel came to Nathan's side.

"What the hell are you doing here, Haley?" she demanded angrily.

"Not until you tell me who you are," Nathan replied.

"We're from the FBI," the brunette replied.

"You're FBI now?" Rachel asked Haley in disbelief.

"No!" Haley exclaimed and then started laughing at the thought. After a few minutes, her expression grew serious. "I'm dead."

--

_**A/N 2**: Like it? Hate it? Let me know. Bye for now. _


	2. Chapter 2

_Thanks to **NaleyOTH23**, **Nathanlvr**, **nikki**, **xxbabii**, **AngelLuva**, **spikesilla**, **chocolatexpresso**, **choccolllatex4**, **H. James-Scott**, **naley23lover101**, **danielle503**, **suki1916**, **Lil M.A.K**,** lindsay e.**, **jella**, **Emily**, **clois4ever**, **HaleyJamesScott2323**,** a** and **WBblued34** for replying. Leave some words and enjoy._

**----------------------------------**

_To answer somone's question about why Rachel was famous, the answer is she isn't really famous. She's a lawyer that handles a lot of high profile cases therefore she has to deal with the press a lot when answering questions on her clients' behalfs. Doubt you'll see much of her as a lawyer in this if at all. _

**----------------------------------**

**Chapter Two**

"Dead?" Nathan asked as he sat down next to Rachel on the couch. They were in the living room and Haley was seated in an easy chair.

"Miss Scott is being placed into the witness protection program," the blonde agent started to say but a scoff that came from Haley interrupted him.

"I'm being forced," she corrected bitterly.

"For your protection," the brunette reminded her with an annoyed expression on his face.

"What happened?" Nathan asked.

"What are your names?" Rachel interrupted before anyone could respond.

"I'm Agent Kendall and this is my partner, Agent Harris. We're with the FBI," the brunette replied.

"And it's a long story," Harris said to Nathan.

"Does that mean you're not going to tell us?" Rachel asked.

"We'll tell you what you need to know and that's it. Too much information could put you in danger and that's what we're trying to avoid," Kendall said.

"Why do they need to know anything at all?" Haley demanded.

"We've already explained this to you, Miss Scott," Harris said.

"You haven't explained shit!" Haley pointed out. Kendall turned to her. "And you better, starting with what the hell we're doing _here_."

"We're on a need-to-know basis," Kendall said.

"I _need_ to know," Haley said.

"We're placing you here," Harris replied.

"Excuse me?" Rachel asked.

"Why?" Nathan asked.

"Like hell you are," Haley said.

"Miss Scott, you're a public figure. People will recognize you all around the country. We've been having difficulty finding somewhere to place you," Kendall said.

"So you chose Tree Hill. Great idea; place me in my hometown. I'm sure they'll _never_ think to look for me here," Haley said.

"They won't think to look for you anywhere if they continue to believe you're dead," Harris pointed out.

"And why do _they_ think she's dead?" Rachel asked.

"Because they tried to kill me and they don't know that I survived," Haley replied before the agents could.

"Someone tried to kill you?" Nathan asked in concern. His eyes were wide with disbelief and he was looking over every inch of her to be sure that she wasn't hurt.

"Wait a minute. When you say you're placing me here, you were talking about Tree Hill, right?" Haley asked. Kendall swallowed hard.

"Not exactly," he said.

"You don't think she's going to stay with Nathan, do you?" Rachel asked.

"If it's all right with you," Harris said, looking only at Nathan.

"Forget him. It's not all right with _me_," Haley said.

"What gave you the idea to place her here?" Rachel asked.

"One of our colleagues from the White House thought that Mr. Scott might be interested in protecting his wife," Harris said.

"Ex-wife," Rachel corrected.

"The White House?" Nathan repeated.

"I don't know anyone from the White House," Haley said at the same time.

"Actually, he's in the secret service," Kendall said.

"I _still_ don't know who you're talking about," Haley said.

"Lucas," Nathan realized suddenly.

"What does he have to do with this?" Haley asked.

"He's _in_ the secret service," Nathan told her.

"Yes, it was your brother who told us," Kendall said. Nathan got up and walked out of the room.

--

_Brrinng!_

"Scott," said the person that answered the phone.

"I'm going to kick your ass, man," an angry voice exploded.

"Hey, bro. How's it going?" Lucas asked as a smile tugged at his lips.

"Are you serious? You send _Haley_ to my doorstep and you're wondering how things are going?" Nathan asked.

"I thought you'd want to know," Lucas said.

"Have you ever heard of picking up a phone?" Nathan demanded.

Lucas whistled. "Do you have any idea how much trouble I would be in if I discussed an on-going case with a civilian?"

"Put a sock in that crap," Nathan said.

"The only way I could talk to you about it is if you already knew, Nate and unless you were somehow involved, that would never happen," Lucas explained.

"Do you have any idea how pissed Rachel is?" Nathan asked.

"She's still around?" he asked in disbelief.

"I'm warning you, Luke," Nathan said.

"Sorry."

"Bull shit," Nathan said.

"Okay, fine. You're right. I'm not sorry that I sent your wife to you in her time of need and should Rachel finally take a hint and leave you alone after seeing how much you still care about her, I'm even less sorry," Lucas said.

"Haley is my ex-wife," Nathan reminded him.

"Only in the legal sense," Lucas said.

"No, in every sense," Nathan said.

"If that's true, then why haven't you proposed to anyone since she left you?" Lucas asked.

"I've told you why a million times," Nathan said.

"Because you're not sure you're cut out for marriage? Come on," Lucas said.

"It's true," Nathan said.

"I never said it wasn't but just for the sake of argument, are you sure it's not because that in your heart, you know Haley will always be your wife?" Lucas asked.

"Yes," Nathan said.

"Then, you're lying to yourself," Lucas said.

"That's irrelevant," Nathan said.

"I don't think it is," Lucas said. There was some inaudible muttering on the other end. "You love Haley and you've wanted her back ever since she left your sorry ass."

"I have a girlfriend," Nathan pointed out.

"But you don't love Rachel. She's just convenient," Lucas said.

"I left Haley for her, didn't I?" Nathan asked.

"You were eighteen and hormonally imbalanced," Lucas said.

"No, I wasn't," Nathan said.

"I meant that you weren't thinking when you made that stupid move," Lucas said.

"You don't decide to leave your wife without thinking it through," Nathan pointed out.

"You weren't thinking _clearly_ then," Lucas said.

"Lucas, why did you do this to me?" Nathan asked.

"Because I know that you and Haley belong together. Haley's too pissed off and you're too guilt-ridden to do anything about it so I am. When Haley got in trouble, I saw my opportunity and took a chance thinking that my brother would want to make sure his wife is being protected," Lucas said.

"I trust the FBI knows what they're doing," Nathan said.

"Yes, but I thought you might want to be the one protecting her. Especially since you promised you would," Lucas said.

"And what about what she wants?" Nathan asked. There was silence. "Or what she _doesn't _want? And if you saw the way she's been acting you'd know that it's not me."

"Haley's been through a lot, Nathan," Lucas said.

"What are you talking about?" he asked.

"Just that she's not in the right frame of mind to determine what she needs," Lucas said.

"What happened to her?" Nathan asked.

"I can't tell you exactly," Lucas said.

"Why?" Nathan asked.

"Because I don't know all of the details. Not even the FBI does. There are some things that Haley refuses to tell anyone until it goes to trial," Lucas said.

"Until what goes to trial?" Nathan asked.

"What exactly have they told you?" Lucas asked, wondering why Nathan was asking him about the trial.

"Just that Haley's being placed into witness protection and that they want her to stay with me," Nathan said.

"Haley witnessed a murder and someone tried to kill her to keep her from talking," Lucas said.

"What?" Nathan exploded.

"I'm sorry, Nate but the rest will have to come from her," Lucas said.

**----------------------------------**

_**A/N**: Bye for now._


	3. Chapter 3

_Thanks to **dancedude09**, **Nathanlvr**, **Emily**, **xSmile**, **SammiM**, **Sw33t Lavender**, **CCScott23**, **theSnuffaluffigus**, **AngelLuva**, **NaleyOTH23**, **H. James-Scott**, **Lorilozz**, **weightedtiarra**, **iftheyonlyknewthetruth**, **chelle2911**, **Sabriina-'**, **naley-obsseshunz-xOx**, **spikesilla**, **jella.** and **babyxbxgurl** for replying. Leave some words and enjoy._

**---------------------------------**

**Chapter Three**

Nathan came back into the living room and sat down. Rachel looked at him rather anxiously, probably wondering if he'd made up his mind to whether or not he would allow Haley to stay with him.

Even if Nathan thought the FBI didn't have a clever way to force his hand, he could never turn Haley away especially if doing so could alert her attackers to the fact that she was alive thus putting her in even more danger than she was already in.

"Do we have your cooperation, Mr. Scott?" Agent Harris asked.

Nathan turned to Rachel and shrugged at her apologetically and then he turned back to the agents and Haley. "Yes, you do."

Both agents Kendall and Harris let out sighs of relief. "We are very thankful to you. Aren't we, Miss Scott?"

"My hero," was all Haley said in response. He could tell that it wasn't sincere. Her voice was laced with sarcasm and she didn't even look at him when she said it. She kept her eyes on her lap the whole time.

"You're welcome, Haley," Nathan said. He didn't expect her to say anything in response or even acknowledge it but to his amazement, she lifted her head and met his gaze as she gave a slight nod.

--

**_MAVERICK'S RISING STAR DIES IN EXPLOSION _**

_Singer-songwriter Haley Scott of Maverick Records died over the weekend. The remnants of a car explosion were found late Sunday night in an empty parking lot three blocks from her apartment building. A body was found among the debris and dental records confirm that Miss Scott's remains were discovered. Memorial service will be held this Thursday in Charlotte of South Carolina where the decedent's parents recently relocated._

"Wow," Nathan said three days later as he brought the morning paper into the house. Haley was already sitting at a table eating some cereal with a book plastered in front of her face.

She glanced up at him curiously. "What?"

He held up the article and when she squinted to make out the headline, he walked over so she could read it. "Your death made the front page."

"Huh."

"I guess it's not so surprising, is it?" he asked. Haley shook her head. "You grew up here and now you're some big star so it's only natural that your death would be front-page news."

"I guess."

Nathan sighed. She had been staying with him for three and a half days now and had yet to say more than one word to him at a time. "Haley?"

"What?"

"Are you okay?" he asked, realizing how lame the question sounded as soon as it came out of his mouth.

She scoffed as she said, "Oh, I'm just _great_."

Sarcasm. He expected that but at least she had said more than one word. "Well, I bet your parents are beside themselves with grief," he said. That got a rise out of her.

"I'm sure they're all broken up about it," she remarked bitterly.

"Why wouldn't they be?" he asked, confused.

"We're not on the best of terms," Haley replied cryptically.

"Oh."

She returned her attention back to the book she was reading.

"You know, even if they were angry with you, it doesn't mean that they didn't care about you because I know they did," Nathan said, trying to comfort her.

Haley put her book down as she dropped her spoon intentionally allowing it to clatter on the floor. "And how exactly would you know that?"

"I've kept in touch," Nathan said.

"Really?" she asked.

"Yeah. I check in a few times a year," he said.

"A few times a year and you think you can read their minds?" Haley challenged.

"I didn't say that," Nathan said.

"And if you did check in with them, how come you didn't know that we haven't been speaking for the past six years?" Haley asked.

"Your name never came up," he replied.

"Oh," she said and then started reading again.

He sat down across from her and began to eat his toast. A few minutes passed and he couldn't stand the silence anymore. "I don't think I can do this," he announced.

Haley put her book down and closed it, hopefully once and for all that morning. She folded her arms and laid them flat on the table as she glared at him. "Well, you should have thought about that before you agreed to let me stay here," she said.

He was silent for a minute and when he opened his mouth to speak she interrupted. "I mean, it's not like I can call Karen or someone to let me stay with them. Everyone thinks I'm dead. You pointed the article out to me yourself."

"Yeah, I know that, Haley, which was why I was talking about eating in silence," he said.

Haley's face went red with embarrassment. She shook her head and laughed at herself and said, "Oh."

"You still do that, huh?" he asked.

"Do what?" she replied.

"Laugh at yourself when you've done something wrong or embarrassed yourself over a misunderstanding like you just did," he explained.

"Apparently," Haley said, shrugging.

"What, you never noticed before?" he asked.

"Nope," she said.

"It's one of the first things I noticed about you," Nathan said.

"That's really great," Haley said flatly.

He sighed. That wall again. "So we're back to that?" he asked.

"What?"

"You're closing yourself off from me again," he replied.

"I didn't notice I had opened or closed myself," she replied and made a face because she was unsure if what she said had made sense.

"You're hot and cold," he said.

"What did you expect me to be?" she asked.

"Grateful?" he offered.

"_Please._"

"I'm serious. I thought you would at least appreciate that I agreed to help you by letting you live in my home despite the problems having you here have caused," he said.

"I didn't ask you to do anything for me," Haley said.

"The FBI did on your behalf," Nathan said.

"No they asked on their behalf. I am a prisoner right now and the only reason I'm going along with everything is because I actually enjoy living," Haley said.

"Why don't you just refuse to testify?" Nathan asked.

"They'd subpoena my testimony," she replied.

"You could still refuse to testify and when they called you, you could refuse to answer or lie your way through everything," he replied.

"Why would I do that?" Haley asked.

"So you wouldn't have to be a prisoner anymore. You could live your life and no one would come after you because you refused to testify," Nathan said.

"If I did that, I'd be dead," Haley said.

"But you wouldn't have testified against 'them'," Nathan said.

"They'd kill me anyway," she said.

"Why?" Nathan asked, concerned. "If you don't talk, why would they kill you?"

"For insurance," Haley said. He stared blankly at her. "The only way to ensure I never testify is to shut me up permanently."

"And they think they've done that?" Nathan asked.

"As far as they know, Haley Scott died in a car explosion," she replied.

"You kept my name," he realized all of a sudden.

"Yes," she replied.

"Why?" Nathan asked.

"I like it better than my old one," she replied with a shrug.

"You don't know why?" he asked.

She shrugged again. "I guess I got used to it." They held eye contact for a few minutes and then Haley got up to get another spoon and bowl of cereal.

"So your funeral's on Thursday," he said.

"And?" she asked.

"It's going to be weird," he replied.

"How so?" she said.

"Being the only one who knows that you're alive around all of the mourners," he said.

She flashed him an amused smile. "I guess it will be weird for you."

"Well, the only aside from Rachel," he added thoughtfully. There was a sputtering noise from Haley's side of the table and Nathan realized she was choking on the bite of cereal she had just taken. He expertly slid his full glass of water over to her and she caught it with her hand and took a sip. She coughed a few times and glared at him.

"You are _not_ bringing Rachel," she declared.

"Yeah, I am," Nathan said.

"It's not a question," Haley said.

"Last time I checked I didn't take orders from anyone," he replied.

"I mean it! You will not bring her to the funeral," Haley said. Her voice was panicked.

"Why the hell not?" he asked. Haley looked at him incredulously. "She's my girlfriend."

"Exactly!"

"I don't understand what the problem is," Nathan said.

"Then you're dense. My family will be there and so will all of my friends," Haley said.

"That's a good thing," Nathan pointed out.

"Not if they all get to meet the other woman," she retorted.

Nathan grimaced. "Haley, I'm not going to flaunt her."

"You won't have to because she'll do it _for_ you," Haley said.

"I thought you were on bad terms with your family so why do you care what they think?" Nathan asked.

"I have pride, Nathan," Haley said.

"Not at your funeral. You're dead remember?" he reminded her.

"Then bringing the woman you left me for to my funeral would be disrespectful; to my memory, and me," Haley retorted.

"Rachel already took the day off and told them that she'd be going to your funeral. She's told everyone," Nathan said.

"I bet she has," Haley remarked.

"That's not fair. You don't know Rachel and she's not like that," Nathan said.

Haley scoffed. "I went to high school with her, Nathan. We were on the squad together and our friends hung out together. I know what she's like."

"That was six years ago," Nathan argued.

"If you're trying to say that she's changed, I don't believe you," Haley said.

"I already asked her to come," Nathan said.

"Then un-invite her or don't go at all," Haley said.

"You're actually asking me _not_ to go to your funeral?" he asked in disbelief.

"If you intend to bring her, I'm _demanding_ you don't go," Haley confirmed.

"Haley, I'm your ex-husband. How would it look if I don't show up?" he asked.

"I don't care," she said.

"Then, you shouldn't care how it would look if I bring Rachel," Nathan said.

"It's not the same thing and you know it," Haley said.

"Then, explain it to me. Why is it okay for me not to go at all but it's not okay for me to bring Rachel with me?" he asked.

"Do you know how many people get divorced every year? Of those divorces, how many of the couples do you think still like each other?" Haley asked.

"I see your point but I don't hate you," Nathan said.

"They won't know that!" Haley said.

"But your parents will and knowing them, they will call and interrogate me about it," Nathan said.

"I don't care what my parents think," Haley said.

He suddenly remembered losing almost every one of their arguments when they were married. She always had an answer. "Isn't the reason you asked me not to bring Rachel that you're afraid of what your family will think if they meet her?" he asked.

"My parents are _two_ people, Nathan. They are not the only family I have," Haley reminded him.

"So you're not on bad terms with your entire family then?" he asked.

"No, just my parents and Taylor," Haley said.

"All right. I won't bring Rachel but I have to go," he said.

"Thanks," Haley said.

"She won't like it though," Nathan said.

Haley chuckled. "Ask me if I care."

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	4. Chapter 4

_Thanks to **icklebabi06**, **NaLeYBaBiixo**, **AngelLuva**, **Lorilozz**, **Nathanlvr**, **lindsay e.**, **Sw33t Lavender**, **CCScott23**, **NALEYalwaysand4ever**, **iftheyonlyknewthetruth**, **i.heart.naley**, **snowbabie** and **babyxbxgurl** for replying. Leave some words and enjoy._

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**Chapter Four**

"I have to go to Charlotte today," Nathan announced as he walked into the living room where Haley sat watching television on Thursday morning.

Haley looked at him and at first she seemed confused but then her face relaxed. "Right. You have to go to my fake funeral."

"Anything you want me to say to your family?" Nathan asked as he attempted to tie his tie.

"Such as?" she asked.

"Well, anything you might think you've left unsaid for a long time," Nathan replied.

Haley laughed. "Subtlety is not your strong suit, Nathan. You can express _your_ condolences but _I_ have nothing to say to them."

"Would it be meddlesome if I asked what happened between you guys?" he asked cautiously.

"Extremely meddlesome and pointless since there's nothing you can do about it," Haley replied, fixing him with a warning look.

"Are you sure?" he asked.

"Positive now come here and I'll help you with that," Haley replied. He came over and as she began to untie the mess he'd made, she chuckled.

"It's not _that_ bad," he said defensively.

She pulled the tie off his neck, put it around her own and began to tie. "Are you kidding? It was awful. You're lucky I didn't have to cut it off of you." She handed it back to him.

"Thanks," he said as he put it over his head and tightened the knot she'd made.

"Thank my brothers who were worse off than you," she said, sitting back down.

"I'll see you later on," Nathan said.

--

The door to the house opened and Rachel Gatina walked up the stairs and rounded the corner to his bedroom. She pushed the door open to be positive that Haley hadn't already gotten her boyfriend into bed and sighed with relief to find the room empty and the bed still made.

"Nathan, are you home?" she called through the empty house. Where was his house guest? He wouldn't have taken Haley with him to her own funeral especially since she was in hiding and the girl was very good at hiding because Rachel couldn't find her anywhere.

"Haley?" Rachel called out when she still couldn't find her. A door slammed closed upstairs and Rachel followed the sound only she couldn't figure out where it had come from once she was up there.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Haley demanded. Rachel looked around the hall. None of the doors were even cracked open.

"Haley?" Rachel asked.

"Look up, moron," Haley commanded.

Rachel looked up and noticed a square frame right above her. Haley's eyes were visible through a small crack in the lid. The attic entrance, Rachel deduced. "What are you doing up there?" she asked.

"I'm spying on you," Haley replied and then shook her head. "What the heck do you think?"

There was the infamous Haley Scott sarcasm that Rachel had heard so much about. She even remembered it a little from high school. "You're hiding," she finally realized.

"That explains what I'm doing up here. What are you doing here at all?" Haley asked.

Rachel put her hands on her hips. "I don't need an excuse to come to _my_ boyfriend's house," she said.

"If it's not your house as well, you do," Haley retorted.

"I have a key," Rachel said, showing the spare key Nathan had given to her as proof.

"For emergencies," Haley reminded her.

Rachel looked at her in disbelief. Had Nathan told her that? "I came here to check in," she said.

"Nathan's not here," Haley pointed out.

"Well, I know that which was why I came to check up on you," Rachel said as she followed Haley downstairs.

"Are you trying to get me killed?" Haley asked.

"Of course not. Why would I check in on you if I was trying to get you killed?" Rachel replied.

"What if someone had called the police on you? What would you have told them, that you were checking up on a dead person?" Haley asked.

"But you're not _really_ dead," Rachel reminded her.

Haley slammed her water bottle down on the table to get Rachel's attention. Judging by her bulged eyes and paled face, she had succeeded. "If you told them that, I would be."

"You're really in something deep, aren't you?" Rachel asked.

"It's not your concern," Haley said.

"You're interfering with my life so it is my concern now," Rachel said.

"Interfering with your life?" Haley repeated incredulously.

"Yeah. My life with Nathan," Rachel said.

"Then I'm happy to return the favour but I'm still not going to tell you anything," Haley said.

"I'll pretend I didn't hear that," Rachel said.

"You do that," Haley said.

Rachel folded her arms across her chest. "How long do you plan to stick around, Haley?"

"I didn't plan any of this so I'll have to get back to you," Haley said.

"Fine just so long as you remember your place," Rachel said.

"And what is my place?" Haley asked.

"You're a guest in Nathan's home and he is _taken_," Rachel said.

Haley's eyes narrowed. "You have a lot of nerve."

"I'm only protecting what's mine," Rachel said.

"Nathan isn't a piece of property and just to let you know, you have nothing to worry about, not that you deserve any assurance from me," Haley said.

"That's the second thing you've said where it sounds like you want to say more. Why not let it out in the open?" Rachel asked.

"It's too late for that," Haley said.

"And yet you keep making catty remarks so let's hear it," Rachel said.

"How could you?" Haley exclaimed. Rachel stiffened. "You saw how happy we were and you _still_ set your sights on Nathan."

"Oh, boy," Rachel breathed.

"You opened this door, Rachel. I didn't do this before because I figured I'd be wasting my breath since Nathan made his choice and it wasn't me," Haley said.

"I always wondered why you never confronted me," Rachel said.

"I never did anything to you," Haley reminded her. Rachel looked down. "But you took away the one thing that I ever wanted."

"Maybe I did," Rachel said with a shrug. "But like you said, Nathan made his choice."

"God help him," Haley retorted.

--

Nathan walked into the funeral home in Charlotte nervously. He had a good view of the room where Haley's service was to take place in about an hour from where he stood and he could already see more than twenty mourners gathered.

He walked in further and almost immediately, he spotted Lydia James. She was standing next to one of Haley's sisters. He recognized her as Haley's eldest sibling; Quinn from the many pictures Haley had shown him. Lydia was leaning on her eldest for support. It was as if she couldn't stand on her own feet right now. The loss of Haley had been that devastating to her.

_And Haley was convinced that her parents wouldn't care._ If she could see her mother right now, she'd know how wrong she was. He didn't know what had happened between Haley, Lydia and Jimmy but it was obviously something big because whenever he brought them up, she would go rigid with anger.

"Nathan, you came!" Taylor James exclaimed. A lot of familiar faces shot up. Some expressed shock and others seemed almost happy. The tall blonde quickly crossed the room and hugged him.

"Hey, Taylor," he said.

"Hi," Taylor said as she pulled away. Her face was red and swollen; all classic signs that she had been crying.

"I'm sorry for your loss," Nathan said formally.

"Me too," she said.

"You're sorry for me?" he asked in confusion.

Taylor flashed a genuine smile. "Your marriage might not have worked out but I know you loved Haley, Nathan."

"Yeah, I did. Part of me will always love her," he admitted.

"That's how it should be," Taylor said with a firm nod.

"How's everyone holding up?" Nathan asked, momentarily glancing at Lydia and then Jimmy.

Taylor pursed her lips together. "Mom was always good at putting on a brave face and Dad is notorious for keeping his emotions bottled up but her death has hit them pretty hard."

"I'm sure," Nathan said, nodding in understanding.

"They've lost their composure a few times," Taylor said.

"Losing a child is probably the most excruciating kind of pain there is," Nathan said.

"Losing a spouse is very hard too," Taylor pointed out. She was obviously tired of talking about how her family was dealing with the loss.

Nathan sighed. He was sure Taylor saw this as a sign of frustration because in her mind, he was in denial about how much Haley meant to him or that he wanted to point out the fact that Haley was no longer his wife so he wouldn't know what that was like but it wasn't.

It was a sign of frustration but not because he was in denial. He was unsure how to act because he knew that Haley wasn't really dead. He didn't know how to act like she was dead.

"I'm sure it is," he chose to say.

"Tsk tsk," Taylor said. He rolled his eyes at the sound. "You're still in denial, huh?"

"I guess you could say that," he replied as honestly as he could under the circumstances.

"Then I'll leave you alone," Taylor said.

"Thanks," Nathan said as he spotted his brother across the room with his wife, Brooke. He walked over and put his arm on Lucas' shoulder.

Startled, he stiffened and turned his head to cast a suspicious glance at whomever it was that had disturbed his conversation. He smiled when he saw Nathan. "Hey, Nathan."

"Hey," Nathan returned.

"Hon," Lucas said as he put a hand on his wife's shoulder. Brooke lifted her head to reveal her tear-stained face. Her mascara was running and her mouth was trembling. "Look who's here."

"Nathan," Brooke choked out.

"Hi, Brooke," Nathan said as she got up and hugged him.

"How are you?" she asked as she pulled away.

"I'm holding up, thanks," Nathan said.

"Excuse us for a minute, okay?" Lucas asked Brooke who nodded in response. Lucas ushered Nathan into a deserted room and closed the door.

"She doesn't know, does she? No one is that great an actress no matter how many awards they've won," Nathan said.

Lucas chuckled as he shook his head. "I told you before that I'm not supposed to disclose anything to anyone unless they're involved."

"I know," he said. Lucas relaxed. "But you do realize that she's going to kill you when she finds out that you knew the whole time, right?"

Lucas bit his lip as he looked around worriedly. "Oh, yeah," he replied.

"Just checking," Nathan said.

"How is she?" Lucas asked curiously.

"Scared, distant and very bitter," Nathan replied. Lucas looked at him weirdly. "Something happened between her and her parents and she gets riled up whenever I bring them up."

"What, you don't know why her parents are mad at her?" Lucas asked in disbelief.

"No and she refuses to tell me," Nathan replied.

"It's about you, Nate," Luke said.

"Come again?" Nathan asked.

"When she left you that summer, she went to stay with her parents. When she finally told them what happened, they went ballistic because she didn't stay and fight for you," Lucas said.

"No," Nathan said in shock.

"It's true. They said that the reason the marriage fell apart was because Haley let it when she just accepted your decision to be with Rachel," Lucas said.

"I can't believe they blamed their own daughter for something that I did," Nathan said.

"They don't blame her because you cheated on her. They just never understand why she didn't fight for you. It's incomprehensible to them because in that family, you go after what you want full-force but Haley didn't. She just walked away," Lucas said.

"Yeah, she did," Nathan said miserably.

Lucas looked at him in surprise. "Did I hit a nerve?"

"No," he said. "I've never understood why she accepted my decision either. She didn't even _try_ to change my mind."

"It's because she's not like that," Lucas said.

"Like what?" Nathan asked.

"I think I remember her saying that she would never try to manipulate someone," Lucas said.

"So you're saying she assumed I wanted Rachel," Nathan said.

"_No_. She assumed you could make up your own mind," Lucas said.

"And I chose Rachel," Nathan said as he realized what he had done to himself.

Lucas nodded and chuckled. "And she sure as hell wasn't going to fight for someone that didn't want her."

"I'm such an idiot," Nathan said.

"Nathan, don't bother beating yourself up over it now," Lucas said.

"Why not? I screwed myself over," he demanded sullenly.

"You made a choice," Lucas reminded him.

"Yeah, the _wrong_ one," Nathan said.

"What?" Lucas asked in disbelief. Was his brother finally admitting that he never stopped loving Haley?

"I _never_ loved Rachel," Nathan admitted.

"Then why did you choose her?" Lucas asked, looking at Nathan as if he had three heads.

"Because she was _pregnant,_" his brother said.

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	5. Chapter 5

_Thanks to **AngelLuva**, **naley-obsseshunz-xOx**, **chelle2911**, **imaslacker**,** Sw33t Lavender**, **suki1916**, **iftheyonlyknewthetruth**, **the Snuffaluffigus**, **Lauren** and **CCScott23 **for replying. Leave some words and enjoy._

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**Chapter Five **

"She was pregnant?" Lucas asked.

"Three weeks' pregnant," Nathan replied as he nodded.

"Unbelievable. This whole time I thought you were a nutcase," Lucas said.

"One thing I've always said I'd never be is my dad," Nathan said.

"You could never be like Dan," Lucas pointed out.

"If I turned my back on Rachel, I'd be just like him," Nathan said.

"So you decided to forsake your wife?" Lucas asked.

"I thought being a good father was more important than being a good husband," he said.

"You were _already_ a bad husband, Nathan. You failed the second you went outside of the marriage," Lucas said.

"And the kicker is that if I had stuck to being a good husband, Rachel never would've gotten pregnant because I never would've slept with her," Nathan said.

"But you did," Lucas said.

"Yeah," Nathan said.

"So what happened?" Lucas asked.

"What do you mean?" Nathan replied.

"Where's your kid?" Lucas asked.

"Miscarriage," Nathan said.

"Boy or girl?"

"Don't know," Nathan replied.

"Sorry, man," Lucas said.

"It was a long time ago," Nathan said.

"You stayed with her, though," Lucas said.

"I couldn't leave her because she lost our baby," Nathan said.

"Why not?" Lucas asked.

"That's heartless," Nathan said.

"You said yourself the only reason you chose her was because she got pregnant. When she miscarried. why didn't you go after Haley?" Lucas asked.

"Do you really think Haley would've taken me back after I chose someone else over her?" Nathan asked.

"If you had explained the situation, yeah, I do," Lucas said.

"Even though I cheated on her?" Nathan asked.

"Oh, yeah," Lucas replied.

"Infidelity is not an easy thing to forgive," Nathan said as he remembered how hard it had been to look at Haley after knowing she had _kissed_ another guy.

"And the reason you're still with Rachel is?" Lucas asked.

"It's complicated, I guess," Nathan said.

"Humour me," Lucas said.

"We've broken up a couple of times, Luke, but we always end up back together," Nathan said.

"But you don't love her?" he asked.

"No," Nathan replied.

"So why put yourself through that?" Lucas asked.

"Mostly because there's no one else," Nathan admitted.

"And you'd rather be in a dead-end relationship than alone?" Lucas asked.

"Pretty much," he replied.

"Well, you know, there is someone else around now," Lucas said cautiously. Nathan looked at him and noticed the small gleam in his brother's eyes.

"I can't," Nathan said.

"Why not?" Lucas asked.

"Because I have no right," Nathan replied.

"Nathan, Haley loves you. She always has," Lucas said.

"And I love her but that isn't always enough," Nathan said.

"Sure it is!" Lucas exclaimed.

"Not this time," Nathan said.

"I think you're wrong," Lucas said.

"I'm warning you to stay out of it, Luke. You've caused enough trouble as it is," Nathan said.

"And if you never speak to me again, I can live with it if it means you and Haley are together again," Lucas said.

"I know you mean well, Luke but it's not fair to her. And she's in trouble. Serious trouble," Nathan said.

"And don't you want to help her through it?" Lucas asked.

"Yes," Nathan replied.

"Wouldn't you protect her with your life?" Lucas asked.

"You know damn well that I would," Nathan replied.

"Then Rachel needs to go," Lucas said.

"What?" Nathan asked.

"You're never going to be happy with her. Keeping her around especially _now_ is not only cruel, it could get her killed," Lucas said.

"I'm not sure she'll see it that way," Nathan said.

"Who cares?" Lucas asked.

"I'm supposed to," Nathan said.

"But you don't, do you?" Lucas shot back. Nathan sighed in response. "If you think you can continue living with Rachel while daydreaming about Haley, you're wrong."

"I destroyed Haley's life once, Lucas. I'm not going to give myself the chance to do it again," Nathan said.

Lucas started laughing at him. "And just what do you think there is to destroy?"

"Haley was happy," Nathan said.

"No," Lucas said.

"How do you know?" Nathan asked.

"Because I know. Haley's career was the only thing she had and while that may be enough for some people, it's not enough for her. She deserves to have love in her life. She didn't even have a dog to cheer her up. She calls business acquaintances who are only around her to share in her fame friends," Lucas said.

"She must have some true friends," Nathan said.

"None that I've seen," Lucas said, gesturing around at all the music people that had come to her funeral.

The door opened and Brooke gestured to the hall. "Lucas, the service is about to start," she said.

"All right," Lucas said and he and Nathan both followed her.

--

"We're gathered here to celebrate the life of Haley Scott. I can tell by the number of people here today that she has touched so many lives. She was many things to so many people- a musician, a colleague, a daughter, a sister and a friend. I never had the privilege of meeting her so I'm not going to stand here and tell you what kind of person she was when there are so many people here that knew her who can tell their own stories. I'm going to ask Haley's mother to come and say a few words," the priest said.

Lydia James stood up with great difficulty. Her face was a heartbreaking display of complete agony. Taylor stood up helped her mother up to the podium. Once there, Lydia stood still while tears once again took over. She half leaned on the podium while her left arm was around Taylor's neck as the two hugged. After three minutes, Lydia had regained enough of her composure to being her speech.

Nathan quickly took out his cell phone and dialled his home phone. He knew no one would answer but he did know that the answering machine would pick it up and his machine was set up to play the message aloud as it was being recorded.

--

Haley closed the door to the refrigerator after she grabbed a bottle of water to soothe her dry throat when a shrill ring startled her. She wandered out in the hall. It took her a minute to isolate the ringing of the telephone as she zeroed in on the cordless phone in the living room sitting on a coffee table on top of an answering machine.

She made no move to answer the phone. Letting the person on the other end- regardless of who they were- hear her voice would be so damaging that she might as well hang a banner in downtown Tree Hill saying, "Here I am, alive and well. Come and get me." After a minute, the ringing ceased and it was followed by three beeps. Haley figured the person was leaving a message then and started to walk away.

"I have given birth to six children." Haley immediately froze at the sound of her mother's voice. She turned around and walked back to the living room. She eyed the phone and answering machine. "Each is special and talented in their own way. But Haley was my last one. My baby girl."

There was a slight pause as her mother probably choked back a sob. "She was the one that I worried about less. Not because I didn't care about her because I loved her more than life itself. But because most days, she was more mature that I was and because of that, I thought she could handle whatever life threw her way. And now she's gone."

Haley felt her eyes water as she heard her mother sob. "And I can't even begin to tell you how devastating it is to even admit that out loud. Haley was a talented singer. Her angelic voice took her places and helped her accomplish things that her father and I only dreamed of for her. Like the pries said, she was so many things to so many people but to me, she was my daughter. I miss her but I can only hope that wherever she is now, she's safe and at peace."

After wiping her tears away, Haley noticed that there was caller id. She looked at the screen that displayed a slightly familiar phone number. She reached into her pocket and unfolded the scrap of line paper that Nathan had scrawled his cell phone number on should she need to contact him. The number was identical to the one displayed on the screen.

Nathan had called knowing that she wouldn't pick up the phone and answer. He must have known that his answering machine would up the call and instantly play it. She realized that he had called on purpose so Haley could hear her mother's speech.

--

Nathan put his arm around his own mother's shoulder as they listened to Taylor. Taylor finished and then Lucas got up with Brooke and together they stood at the podium.

"I was Haley's best friend back in school. Our paths crossed one day during lunch in third grade. Haley had just moved to town from Westover and it was her first day. She was the new girl that everybody was interested in knowing more about but as she walked by the lunch tables, not one of them made a move to make a seat for her," Lucas started.

Sitting in Nathan's dark living room listening to her old best friend's speech on the answering machine, Haley smiled as she remembered feeling stung by their rejection though she hadn't known that they were curious about her.

"I was sitting alone at a secluded table. Secluded because everyone thought I was a loser and so they didn't want to sit anywhere near me. When she finally reached my table, Haley sat down, opened her lunch bag and we ate our lunches in silence. The next day she got there before I did. When I got to the table I asked her if she knew she was risking becoming a social outcast by sitting with me," Lucas continued and started laughing.

Nathan could imagine a few things that Haley might say in response to that question but then he realized that he didn't know her back then so he could be completely wrong. It was interesting hearing about her and Lucas' relationship even if it was a story. He often wondered what she was like before they met? Was she ever like Brooke or Peyton? Or was she always herself?

"Haley looked at me for a while before she stopped eating. She closed her lunch bag and got up. I thought she was going to leave because she realized that I wasn't cool. But she didn't. Instead she moved over one seat and gestured to the chair she had sat in before. I sat down beside her and she offered me half of her hot rod. And ever since then, she was always my best friend," Lucas said. He looked around at all of the faces and smiled. "It's been six years since high school ended. Haley left Tree Hill and finally became the star she was destined to be. I went into the secret service. We hardly ever saw each other and when we did talk, it was to catch up. Still, it doesn't matter. Now matter how much time has passed or where we were, she never stopped being my best friend. Haley is an original; irreplaceable even in death."

"I guess you could say Haley and I got off on the wrong foot," Brooke Davis-Scott started. A few people laughed. These people were obviously from Tree Hill. "At first, anyway. I thought she was a geek and her opinion of me only worsened after I started calling her tutor girl. I became her best friend's girlfriend and then- in an unexpected twist- her roommate for a short time in senior year. It was then that I realized how truly lucky I was to have her as a friend. And I'll miss her a lot."

"I got to know Haley after Lucas joined our high school's basketball team. She didn't like me very much when Lucas and I first started hanging out. I have a few ideas why but none that I'm sure of so I won't bother to list them off. Like Brooke, I thought she wasn't worth my time on account of her slightly unpopular status. But after a while, we started to get along and she quickly became one of my best friends by senior year. And we were still very close friends up until she died. I don't have any siblings but I feel like I've lost a sister right now," Peyton Jagielski said.

Haley only half listened to some of her colleagues as they spoke about how much they were going to miss her inspirational music. She rolled her eyes as Maverick's CEO- whom she had never met- droned on about how he knew she was going to be a star at her audition. There was silence for about five minutes when her mother spoke again.

"Thank you all for those kind words. I can't tell you how much they mean to me but there's one last person who has yet to speak. Haley's husband," her mother said.

Nathan stiffened in his seat. Some people turned to look at him. His mother patted him on the shoulder in encouragement. He stood up and as he walked down the aisle to the front of the church, he noticed a few people's eyes bulge in disbelief. Most were Haley's colleagues. He realized it was because they must not have known that Haley had been married.

He stood next to Lydia and she smiled. "Please." He couldn't refuse to speak after that.

"Haley and I got married in high school. We weren't together very long. Things ended right before we went to college. Despite all of the pain we caused one another, I can honestly tell you that I've never loved anyone the way that I loved her. She was a lot of things but she was the love of _my_ life," Nathan said.

There was a loud double click as Nathan abruptly ended the call on the answering machine. All alone in the dark living room surrounded in silence, Haley finally allowed herself to cry.

--

Nathan came home very late the next night. He silently closed the front door. He walked into the kitchen and put his keys in a small dish on the counter. He walked to his bedroom and stripped down to his boxers. Then he suddenly realized that he hadn't seen any sign of Haley. He crossed the hall over to the guest room and felt a surge of panic when he saw that the bed was still made. No one had slept in it.

He walked to the attic entrance and pulled the latter down. He poked his head up and still there was no sign of her. He went back downstairs and searched every room. Then he came to the living room where he found her asleep on the couch. Relief washed over him and he noticed the red light flashing on his answering machine. The first one was from Rachel welcoming him back home and asking him to call her as soon as he could. The next one was from a number he didn't recognize.

It turned out it was just Lucas calling from work and asking him to return the call. He went to the pad he kept next to the phone to remind himself to call Lucas and before he put his pencil on the paper, he noticed that someone had already written on the page.

_Thank you_ was written in red ink. He looked over at Haley and smiled. It was her writing.

He walked over, remembering to grab a blanket off of a chair. He covered her with the blanket. He leaned down and carefully kissed her on the forehead. "You're welcome," he whispered and then went back to his bedroom.

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	6. Chapter 6

_Thanks to **Nathanlvr**, **AngelLuva**, **Dizzle12**, **theSnuffaluffigus**, **mary-023**, **HaleyJamesScott2323**, **Sw33t Lavender**, **naley-obsseshunz-xOx**, **Cherry-Alanna** and **iftheyonlyknewthetruth** for relying. I will start to shed more light on the murder victim in upcoming chapters. And, yes, Haley does still have the tattoo but it has not come up in the story yet. __Leave some words and enjoy._

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**Chapter Six**

"What are you doing here?" Nathan asked the person outside his front door.

"Nice to see you too," his brother sneered.

"Sorry. I just didn't think you would be _allowed_ here given what you know," Nathan said.

"Normally I wouldn't be allowed to visit a person in witness protection but you're my brother and this is your house; it's hardly out of the ordinary for me to visit you," Lucas said.

"Uh, yeah, it is," Nathan said. Lucas frowned at him. "We usually grab a bite or something."

Lucas shrugged. "So we do but they don't know that."

"I hate that word," Nathan said as they walked into the living room.

Lucas made himself at home as he sat down in Nathan's favourite EZ chair and stretched out his legs. He shot Nathan a confused look. "What word?"

"They."

Lucas looked at him in amazement. "You _hate_ a pronoun?"

Nathan rolled his eyes. "It's just so vague. They could mean anyone. How am I supposed to know who you're referring to?"

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"Never mind."

"No, no, no," Lucas said, shaking his head, "you can't say something that ridiculous and then just drop it."

"Nobody will tell me who _they_ are. Haley's been living here for quite some time. You'd think someone would shed some light on just exactly what she's been mixed up in but nope."

Lucas chuckled as he realized what was really bothering Nathan. Haley hadn't let him in yet. "She still won't tell you anything, huh?"

"No."

"She will. Don't worry."

Nathan sighed. "When?"

Lucas shrugged. "I suppose when she knows she can trust you again."

"Why wouldn't she trust me?" Nathan demanded.

Lucas raised an eyebrow and then shook his head. "Do I really need to answer that?"

"No," Nathan replied immediately. "I know why. I'm just worrying about her."

"Maybe if you tell her the truth, she'll tell you," Lucas suggested.

"I don't want to open it all up again," Nathan said.

"You already did that when you let her stay here," Lucas said.

"Because _you_ told the FBI that it might be a good idea," Nathan said.

Lucas laughed. "You make it seem like I have the power to make people do whatever I want. If I had that ability, I wouldn't be working so hard to get you and Haley together because you'd already _be_ together. Besides, you didn't have to say yes, you know? That was your choice."

"Haley is in danger. There was _no_ choice," Nathan said.

"Awe," Lucas cooed which earned him a glare. "Where is Haley anyway?"

"She's still asleep," Nathan said.

"Where?" Lucas asked.

"Guest room upstairs. The last door on the right," Nathan said.

Lucas nodded and got up. "Time for Sleeping Beauty to wake up."

"Your funeral," Nathan remarked but Lucas was already up the stairs and didn't hear him.

--

Lucas opened the door to the guest room and almost chuckled at the sight of Haley sleeping soundly. For some reason, he always thought she would snore but she didn't. He walked over to the bed and reached over to shake her.

"Waking me up is an offence punishable by death, Luke," she said before his hand even grazed her shoulder.

He jumped and after his pulse stopped racing, he folded his arms over his chest indignantly. "How did you know?"

Haley finally opened her eyes and yawned. She pushed the covers off of her and glared at him. "You shuffle your feet when you walk. You're a shuffler- a very _loud_ shuffler."

"At least I don't snore like a buzz saw," he retorted.

"I don't snore," Haley said.

"How can you be so sure?" Lucas asked.

"Because someone once told me that I didn't," she replied as she got off the bed and threw on some slippers. She knew Nathan hated a stuffy house, which was why he always had the air conditioning on higher than needed, but her feet felt like two blocks of ice.

"Nathan?"

"What about him?"

"Was he the one that told you that?" Lucas asked.

"Well who else would have?" Haley shot back.

"A new boyfriend, perhaps," Lucas replied.

Haley laughed. "I haven't been with anyone else and you know that."

"And I've always wondered why," Lucas said.

"Don't start," Haley warned him.

"I bet it's because no one could measure up," Lucas said boldly.

Haley chuckled wryly. "Or he hurt me so bad that I decided to give men up."

"No," Lucas said, shaking his head dismissively. "That's not it."

"Knock it off. It's too early in the morning for your nagging," Haley complained.

"I prefer to call it aggressive persuasion," Lucas argued as they walked out of the room.

"Call it whatever you want. It's still too early," Haley shot back.

"All right. Let's just go downstairs and have a family reunion," Lucas said.

"I'm going to read in my room for a while," Haley said as she turned around to go back in the bedroom but Lucas grabbed her hand and stopped her in her tracks.

"You can't avoid him forever," Lucas said.

"I'm not planning to. Just as long as possible," Haley said.

"Come on," Lucas pleaded.

"All right. Fine."

--

"Afternoon," Nathan said as Haley and Lucas walked in.

Lucas looked at his watch and shook his head. "Wow. Time flies when you're having fun. Sorry to cut this short but I need to run. You two kids have fun." He got up and headed out of the room. He started laughing once he was outside.

"You just got here," Nathan called after Lucas but the door had already closed. Then he turned back and shook his head in annoyance. He looked up at Haley and shrugged. She didn't say a word and they stared at each other in silence for a while. Nathan decided to leave and started to get up.

"Did you mean it?"

Nathan was so shocked that she had actually started a conversation that he sat right back down. He studied her. She was leaning back in the EZ chair Lucas had been sitting in before and her gaze was probing; it was like she was searching for his answer by a reaction. "Did I mean what?"

Haley licked her lips. She couldn't believe she was bringing this up. She wanted to take it back, unsure if she really wanted to know the answer but it was too late. It was out there and she had put it there. "What you said at my funeral. Did you mean it?"

Nathan swallowed hard as he nodded. "Every word."

"Then why did you…?" Haley started to ask but she couldn't finish. Her eyes had started to water. She really didn't know if she could take his answer especially if he said that he loved Rachel more than her. But then if he said he didn't love Rachel more, it would make even less sense that he left her. Either answer could bring her more pain.

"I chose Rachel because…" Nathan started to say.

"No!" Haley said.

"What?" Nathan asked.

"I don't want to know. Just forget I asked." She got up and started to leave. She walked past him and he grabbed her elbow and tightened his grip as he pulled her back lightly.

"Stay." She was about to refuse but something in his eyes made her look at him for more of an explanation. "It's time you heard the truth."

"I think I already know everything I need to."

"There's more."

"Fine." Haley sat down and looked at him expectantly. "Do me a favour and don't leave anything out _this_ time."

"I chose Rachel because I thought I was doing the right thing," Nathan said.

"For who?" Haley asked incredulously.

"For my child," Nathan replied.

"What are you talking about?" she asked.

"Rachel was pregnant, Haley," Nathan replied. Haley's eyes bulged in disbelief. "With my child." He expected her to yell at him, maybe even cry or throw things. But he didn't expect her to smile.

"Are you sure?" she asked.

"Huh?" he asked.

"Are you sure that the baby was yours?" Haley elaborated.

"I don't understand," Nathan said.

Haley rolled her eyes as she said; "The woman was having an affair with a married man. She obviously has no principles so it's not ludicrous to think you weren't the only guy she was sleeping with."

"So how could you be certain that the baby was yours? How could she be? Actually, come to think of it, this is _Rachel_; she's not like other sluts. Are you sure she was even pregnant?"

"She said she was," Nathan replied.

Haley scoffed. "Men; you're far too trusting."

"I seriously doubt she would lie about _that_," Nathan said.

"She's a lawyer," Haley pointed out. "Lying is how she makes her living."

"Okay, fine. Maybe she would lie about it. I just don't think she did but more important: I didn't then," Nathan said.

"So where's the kid?" Haley asked.

"Rachel miscarried," Nathan said.

Haley snorted. "Now that's awfully convenient."

"Can you be serious?" Nathan asked.

"I _am_ being serious," she said.

"Then, can you let me finish?"

Haley nodded. "Carry on."

"I decided to be with her for our child because I didn't want to be like Dan. I wanted to be there for my child. But I didn't want to punish you for my mistakes," Nathan said.

Haley frowned. "Oh, you were being noble when you dumped me. Is that it?"

"I wouldn't say noble, but yeah," he replied.

"Give me a break," Haley said.

"What?" he asked in disbelief.

"You weren't being noble, Nathan. You were being a coward," Haley said.

"I was doing what I thought was best for you," he said.

"If you had told me the truth, we might have been able to get passed it but you didn't. You let me think you didn't love me anymore instead. Why, did you think I would be disappointed?"

"Yeah, and devastated."

Haley scoffed. "You slept with another woman, Nathan; I was _already_ disappointed. And you devastated me when you chose her."

"I'm sorry," Nathan said.

"Well, that's good," she said. He cleared his throat to say something but Haley got up and started walking out of the room. When she was in the hall, she turned back. "You should be."

"Why is it good?"

"If you're sorry, it'll be easier for me to start to forgive you," she said.

He looked at her in disbelief. "You would really forgive me?"

"I'd try to," she said.

--

"Nathan?" Rachel asked her boyfriend as they were eating lunch the next afternoon at Karen's Café.

Nathan opened his eyes and met Rachel's questioning gaze. "What?"

"You're not paying attention!" Rachel exclaimed, and then she put her fork down in her salad and folded her arms across her chest indignantly.

"Sorry. I'm just a little distracted," he said.

"Well, as I was saying, I managed to get my client off on a technicality. That fool DA doesn't know the law from his shoe size," she said and with a self-satisfied smirk, "he's probably going to get fired because of his miserable performance in court today."

Nathan nodded absentmindedly at what she was saying even though he wasn't really listening.

"My client is so thrilled, he's lending me his private jet for the weekend. So I was thinking that you and I could take a mini-vacation. Preferably somewhere hot."

"I don't think that's a good idea," he said.

Her face fell. "Why not?"

He sighed and took a deep breath. "Because this isn't working."

Her eyes clouded with confusion. "What's not working?"

"You and me," he replied gently hoping she would accept it.

Nathan sighed with frustration. So much for getting it over with because her behaviour practically screamed that she was going to make this difficult. Her mouth parted slightly and her eyes started to glisten with tears. Her jaw clenched and she choked back a sob. Then she began looking around the room, purposely avoiding looking at him. "It's me," he added.

"Well, it sure as hell isn't _me_. I've been committed to you for six years and my finger is still bear," Rachel spat venomously.

"Totally committed?" He looked at her incredulously. "I know that you see other guys all the time, Rachel."

"And I always come back to you, don't I?" Rachel retorted. He didn't answer which was fine because she just kept on going, "Even though I know _she's_ still in your heart."

Nathan rolled his eyes at the bitter jealousy in her voice. "You know what? You're right; I do still love her. I never stopped loving her. And I can't live this lie anymore."

Rachel leaned back in her booth and glared at him.

"If you want, we can still be-" he started to say.

She raised her hand and pointed her index finger at him threateningly. "If you say 'friends', you'll be saying it an octave higher," Rachel warned.

Nathan rolled his eyes. "It is _you_."

Her eyes blazed. "What?"

"You heard me," he retorted. Her eyes narrowed into slits. "I used to feel sorry for you because people judged you all the time. I was so busy pitying you that I never realized that everything that they said about you was true. Until now."

He got up, opened his wallet and threw three twenty-dollar bills on the table. "That should cover just about everything."

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	7. Chapter 7

_Thanks to **CCScott23**, **mary-023**, **Chris-Crips**, **babyxbxgurl**, **lindsay e.**, **Lorilozz**, **chelle2911**, **suki1916**, **flowersinthespringtime**, **S0phiaVale3ntine**, **theSnuffaluffigus**, **naley23lover101**, **AngelLuva**, **Fleni**, **snowbabie**, **mistydm**, **Nathanlvr**, **xSmile**, **Cherry-Alanna** and **daisy31** for replying. Leave some words and enjoy._

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**Chapter Seven**

"It's absurd!"

Nathan and Lucas looked at each other. Haley had come downstairs that morning three months later. Her arms were across her chest stubbornly and she said that she needed more clothes and then explained that she wasn't allowed to bring most of her things because the FBI feared it might tip off her attackers.

"They're just being cautious," Lucas reminded her, hoping she would calm down but all his reminder earned him was an incredulous scoff.

"They're _being_ paranoid," Haley retorted and shook her head. "Like those people are really going to notice that I'm down a few shirts. Unless they're perverts as well as murderers."

"There's no need to get worked up, Hales," Luke said.

"Easy for you to say," she shot back. Luke looked up and met her fiery gaze again. "You're not the one who's going to be walking around in nothing but a bathrobe in early November."

"Haley, you're not without clothes. You just put them in a wash," Nathan said.

"All summer clothes. I didn't pack my warmer clothes because I didn't realize I'd be staying with you this long," Haley said.

"Well, neither did I but I still don't see what the problem is," Nathan said.

"It's going to be more freezing than it already is very soon," Haley said as she gestured to the window.

"Well, it's not like you're going to be in the freezing cold," he reminded her.

Haley narrowed her eyes and put her hands on her hips and that's when he knew he had just made a huge mistake. "Maybe I will," she said defiantly.

"Haley, you know you can't leave the house," Luke said.

"I might not have a choice and when that day comes, I would like to be properly clothed," she said.

They both opened their mouths to protest but she widened her eyes and they instantly closed them. They knew that when Haley got like this, there was no arguing with her. "Fine. We'll go and get you some clothes," Luke said.

Haley grinned. "_You're_ going to buy me clothes?"

"Yes," Nathan said.

Haley looked them over. Lucas was wearing a white t-shirt with the superman logo and blue jeans. Nathan was wearing a light blue jersey for a team Haley had never heard of and black cords. Then she shook her head and said, "I don't think so."

"Why not?" Luke asked.

"Because you don't know the first thing about what women wear," Haley said.

"And you do?" Nathan asked.

"I know what I like," Haley said.

"So do I," Nathan said as he turned to Lucas with a mischievous grin on his face. "All we have to do is find a light blue t-shirt, some jeans and a poncho similar to that ugly one her mom made her."

Haley glared at him. "You're _definitely _not getting clothes for me."

Nathan frowned. Lucas chuckled at them. They were already arguing like an old married couple. He got up and stood in between the two of them. "Relax. I've got an idea."

--

Nathan opened his front door and his jaw dropped when he saw the person on the other side of it. "Hey," he choked out.

She smiled at him and lifted her sunglasses so he could see the amusement in her dark brown orbs. "That's all you have to say to your old friend?"

Nathan closed the door and led her into the living room. She looked around the room and flashed an approving smile. "Not too shabby."

"Thanks," he said. She nodded and sat down. "So what brings you here, Peyton?"

"Lucas called me. He asked me to meet him here," she said.

"I didn't know you were still talking to him after what happened," Nathan said.

"Ancient history," she assured him.

"Really?" he asked as he raised an eyebrow at her skeptically.

"He chose Brooke. They're happily married. And guess what?" Peyton asked, throwing her sunglasses into her purse with her left hand, showing off her engagement and wedding rings. "So am I."

"How is Jake doing?"

"He's fine," Peyton replied.

"Jenny?"

"She's fine too."

"So how's life in the White House?" Nathan asked, suddenly remembering that Peyton was in the secret service as of two years ago.

"I don't work in the White House, Nathan. I train the people that do," Peyton said.

"And how is that going?"

"Fine. How's basketball?" she asked.

"I've taken a bit of a break from that," he replied.

Haley wandered down the stairs and started to walk into the living room but Peyton's voice made her freeze in place. She wondered what Peyton was doing here and then forgot all about it at the mention of Rachel.

"Because of Rachel?"

Nathan's brow furrowed and she tilted her head to the side. "I heard that things didn't work out between the two of you."

"Where did you hear that?"

"Brooke told me."

Nathan rolled his eyes at the predictability. "Of course she did."

"So was losing the redhead that devastating?" Her voice was dripping with sarcasm and Nathan knew it was because Peyton was still close with Haley until she "died", she hated Rachel.

Nathan cleared his throat. "Not in the least."

Peyton's eyebrows shot up in disbelief. "Really?"

"I broke up with her," Nathan admitted. "Believe it or not."

"_Not_," Peyton remarked.

"I did," he insisted.

"Why?"

"Because it wasn't going anywhere," he said.

"Uh-huh."

"What?"

"You stayed with her for six years and you expect me to believe that you broke up with her because it wasn't going anywhere?"

"It's the truth," Nathan said.

Peyton smirked. "Or your guilty conscience at work."

Haley widened her eyes in surprise. She knew Peyton was angry at Nathan but she never thought she'd take it this far.

"What are you talking about?"

"You hurt Haley, Nathan," Peyton said.

"I know that," he said between clenched teeth.

"But she died before you could make up for it so breaking up with Rachel was your conscience's way of dealing with it."

"No," Nathan said dismissively. "I broke up with Rachel because I don't care about her."

Before Peyton could respond, the door slammed closed and Lucas walked in. "Well, it's about time."

"Sorry. I got held up at work," Lucas said.

"Having an affair already?" Peyton asked.

Lucas eye's clouded with confusion and Peyton walked over and fingered his collar where there was smeared lipstick. He bit his lip and sighed. "Fine. I was at home with my wife. Happy?"

"That a Scott actually told the truth? Ecstatic," Peyton replied and then eyed Nathan. "Lying is like second nature to you people."

Luke swallowed hard and in the corner of his eye, he noticed Haley hovering in the hallway. "All right. Down to the reason I called you here."

"You pulled me out of a class so this better be good," Peyton replied.

"We need your help," Nathan said.

Peyton raised her eyebrows at him incredulously. "Why would I help _you_?"

Lucas glared at Nathan for being so stupid. "Actually, _we_ don't need your help."

Peyton looked at him in confusion. "Then why am I here?"

"_Haley_ does," Lucas replied.

"She needs some clothes," Nathan said.

She studied their faces and noted that their faces expressed seriousness. "Is this some kind of sick joke?"

"Peyton, before you go ballistic…" Nathan started.

"Haley is _dead_ and you two are assholes!" Peyton exploded. Her eyes had started to water and she wiped her tears away with the back of her hand. She picked up her purse and headed towards the front door.

"Peyton, wait!" Haley called after her.

Peyton froze and held the door open a crack. Lucas and Nathan came out into the hallway. "We _might _be assholes but Haley is alive," Lucas said when Peyton shot him a questioning look.

Peyton closed the door all the way and walked back into the living room. She started trembling when she saw Haley standing in the middle of the room. "Am I hallucinating?" After Ellie died, Peyton had had countless conversations with her or at least, in her mind, she did.

"Not this time," Haley replied with a sad smile. Peyton launched forward and hugged Haley.

"Haley," Peyton said when she pulled away. Haley looked at her curiously. "Why does everyone think you're dead?"

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	8. Chapter 8

_Thanks to **xSmile**, **CCScott23**, **AngelLuva**, **S0phiaVal3ntine** and **Nicki-hunny** for replying. Leave some words and enjoy._

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**Chapter Eight**

Haley gave Peyton a mug full of steaming rich coffee that she had been making in the kitchen earlier.

"Thanks," she said as she took a small sip and recoiled.

"Too hot?" Haley asked, biting her tongue to keep from laughing.

Peyton glared at her as she rolled her eyes. "Just a tad."

Peyton and Haley had run into each other in New York four years after Haley left Tree Hill to go to Stanford University instead of Duke University with Nathan. Their friendship grew and they were very close despite being very different from when they were first friends.

Peyton put her mug down on the table and looked at Haley. "Will you tell me now?"

"I can't tell you," Haley said.

She smirked and then her face bore a thoughtful look as she asked, "Can't or won't?"

"A little bit of both, I guess," Haley replied quietly.

"Haley, did you get in trouble?" Peyton asked.

Haley's lips remained sealed but her hazel orbs were alive with action. Two distinct emotions shone clear; regret and complete terror.

"You _are_ in trouble, aren't you?"

"I didn't do anything wrong, if that's what you're asking," Haley replied.

"Of course you didn't," Peyton replied deliberately sounding skeptical because she knew Haley would get defensive.

"I didn't. I'm a material witness," she said.

Peyton stiffened. "To _what_ exactly?"

"A murder," Lucas replied as he walked into the room and Nathan came in after him. The brothers sat down on either side of Peyton.

"What happened to being discreet?" Haley demanded of Lucas who winced at her glare.

"I think it's time you told us what you saw," Nathan said.

Haley chuckled wryly and shook her head. "_No_."

She put her cup in the sink, walked out of the room, ran upstairs and slammed her bedroom door shut.

Nathan sighed. "That went well."

"Not really," Peyton said.

Nathan rolled his eyes at the harshness of her tone. "I was being sarcastic."

"I'm going to go and get her some clothes. I'll be back in a few hours," Peyton said as she got up and rinsed her mug out and put it in the dish strainer by the sink. "Try not to aggravate her."

"I'm only trying to help her," Nathan said.

"By grilling her?"

"I'm worried about her."

Peyton's face softened and then her eyes changed as understanding dawned on her. "That's why you broke up with her."

"What?" Nathan asked.

"You didn't break up with Rachel because you suddenly realized it was over," Peyton continued though she seemed to thinking out loud.

"I knew it was over a long time ago," Nathan replied and looked at her in a way that expressed his desire not to talk about it.

Peyton seemed to get it and turned her attention over to Lucas. "Did Brooke get a new cell phone?" she asked.

Lucas looked at her in confusion. "Last month."

"Can I have the number?" she asked.

"Sure," he replied and started to write the number down on a piece of paper without checking his cell phone. He handed the scrap paper over to Peyton and as she reached out to take it from his hand he hesitated and pulled it back. "Wait. Why do you need this?"

"Because I want Brooke to come shopping with me," Peyton replied.

"You can't take Brooke with you," Lucas said.

Her eyebrows came together. "Because?"

"You're shopping for Haley," Nathan replied.

"So?" Peyton asked.

"So Brooke thinks Haley is dead and she can't know that that's not true," Lucas replied.

"Brooke doesn't know?" Peyton asked in disbelief.

"No," Lucas replied through gritted teeth.

Peyton started laughing. "You're a dead man."

"I know."

"Glad that you've come to terms with that now hand over the phone number, please," Peyton said.

"Brooke can't find out the truth," Lucas insisted.

"Okay, I get it. I'm not going to tell her so you can relax now," Peyton said, tapping her foot impatiently as she held out her hand for the piece of paper with Brooke's number again.

"You and Haley aren't the same size; she's going to know you're not shopping for yourself," Lucas said.

"I will find a way around that." When Lucas still didn't give it to her, Peyton lurched forward and snatched the paper out of his hand.

"Peyton, please," Lucas said.

"For God sakes, Lucas! I've got it under control," Peyton exploded as she dialled Brooke's number on her way out the door.

--

"Not that I'm not happy to see you, Peyton, but why did you ask me to tag along?" Brooke asked as she searched through some long-sleeved shirts.

"I already told you but if I have to go through it again, fine," Peyton said as she grabbed a pair of jeans and threw them in her shopping cart. "Some poor girl witnessed a murder. Her testimony will put the monster away so she's a material witness and she's being placed into witness protection."

"Yes, I got that but don't they have people to do this kind of thing already?" Brooke asked as she added three shirts to the shopping cart.

"None of them have your fashion sense," Peyton replied.

Brooke grinned. "You think I have good taste?"

"In clothes."

"What do you mean by that?" Brooke asked.

"I think you could've done better than Lucas."

Brooke's eyes narrowed slightly. "Hey! What's wrong with Luke?"

"He's a Scott and they lie," Peyton replied with a wink.

"Lucas isn't Nathan and he _did_ lie but only because he thought he was doing the right thing," Brooke replied.

"Huh?" Peyton asked.

"He knocked Rachel up," Brooke replied.

"How do you know that?"

"Lucas told me a few weeks ago after Nathan told him at the funeral," Brooke replied without missing a beat. Peyton's jaw dropped. Then Brooke clapped her forehead and shook her head as she realized what she had said. "I never told you that."

"I won't say a thing," Peyton murmured absentmindedly. Her mind was racing and then her eyes widened with realization.

Nathan had stuck by Rachel because she was pregnant and since he didn't have a kid, Rachel obviously hadn't carried to term or she aborted the kid. So he never really chose Rachel over Haley. He chose his child.

"Earth to Peyton!" Brooke shouted and brought Peyton out of her thoughts. Brooke was holding up a shirt and was looking at her expectantly.

"No," Peyton said dismissively.

Brooke looked at the shirt and then at Peyton in confusion. "Why not? It's cute."

"She doesn't like pink."

"Oh," Brooke replied and put a blue shirt into the shopping cart instead.

--

"I'm sorry," Nathan said as he appeared in Haley's bedroom doorway that she had opened later on.

Haley looked up from the book she was reading and nodded at him.

"I wasn't trying to push you," he said.

"It's fine," Haley said.

"No, it's not fine," Nathan said as he came into the room, dragged the desk chair over to the bed and sat down. "You've been through a lot. I should be more understanding of that instead of…"

"What?" Haley asked in confusion.

"Instead of feeling angry because you haven't opened up to me," Nathan replied.

Haley marked her page and put the book down on the bedside table.

"I haven't given you any reason to trust me," he said.

"You think I'm trying to punish you?" Haley asked, mystified.

Nathan looked up at her and nodded slightly. "I hurt you."

"Yeah, you did, but I'm not, not telling you anything because of that," Haley said.

"Then what are you doing?" he asked.

"I'm trying to protect you," Haley replied.

"I don't understand."

"I was almost killed because of what I saw," Haley reminded him.

"I know," he said and felt his anger at whoever tried to hurt her rise.

"I don't want anyone else to get hurt, especially _you_," Haley said with more conviction that she would've liked.

"Haley, all I want to do is help you," he said.

"Helping me more than you already have may come with a death sentence," she pointed out as tears sprang to her eyes at the thought of Nathan dying because of her.

"I can take care of myself," Nathan said.

"But you're not invincible," Haley argued.

"Well, neither are you," he retorted. He sighed as he raised his gaze to look her in the eye. "I want to protect you, Haley, but I can't if I don't know what I'm protecting you from.

She nodded. "He was someone I worked with on occasion."

"You knew him?" Nathan asked.

She smiled. "So did you."

"Who do I know that you work with?" Nathan asked.

"You lost touch with him after high school," Haley hinted.

"Is it someone from the team?" His voice was full of worry.

She shook her head.

"Then who are you talking about?" Nathan asked as he looked at her intensely.

Her lower lip trembled and a few tears rolled down her face after she blinked. "Skills."

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	9. Chapter 9

**

* * *

Chapter Nine**

Nathan stared at Haley in disbelief as she wiped some tears away with a Kleenex. "Skills… he's _dead_?"

Haley sniffled and nodded. "Yeah." She shuddered as the sound of the gunshot blast rang in her ears and the image of Skills lying on her living room floor while his blood pooled around him flashed through her mind.

"I'm having trouble seeing Skills as a singer let alone accepting that it's what got him killed," Nathan remarked.

"Skills was signed to Epic Records and he sang R&B," Haley replied.

"Was he any good?"

Haley chuckled at the absurdity of the question as she replied, "That's like asking if a bird can fly."

Nathan nodded.

"He was better than _good_," Haley continued. Nathan looked at her and noticed the awe in her voice as she spoke. "Singing came naturally to him."

"So he was like you?" Nathan asked.

"I had to work hard to get my voice to where it is today," Haley commented. Nathan smirked. "I took four years of extended vocal lessons."

"That's because you're always finding ways to better yourself," Nathan told her. Haley's brows came together. "You studied hard in school, you practiced cooking and you took extra vocal lessons to make those things better but your voice has always sounded amazing."

"Thanks," Haley said.

"Why were you working with him? Did he need your help on some of his songs?" Nathan asked.

"We agreed to co-produce each other's albums. Skills sang on three tracks on my debut album and I sang on four songs off of his fourth album," Haley replied.

"But you're signed to Maverick."

"How did you know that?" Haley asked. When she was first signed to Maverick, her first instinct had been to call Nathan and tell him the news but decided against it partly because she was still angry at him for cheating on her with Rachel. She wasn't sure how he would react to the news.

Nathan had been the one who had encouraged her to put her musical talent to use and she was forever grateful that he had given her that extra push as well as the support that she needed. But after the tour, things had changed. Whenever somebody broached the subject of music, he had grown tense and Haley knew that he was threatened by her music because he was afraid that she would leave him again.

"Your obituary mentioned it," Nathan lied. True, her obituary had mentioned that Haley was signed to Maverick but he had known long before that.

He recalled one day he was having lunch with Lucas and Brooke. Lucas and Nathan were talking while Brooke read the latest issue of _Rolling Stone_. She had started reading the names of new singers signed to various labels aloud. When she had started reading off Maverick's new recruits, her face had drained of colour.

It took a while but Lucas had finally been able to persuade her to tell them what was wrong. With a wide grin on her face she had shown them the list of names under Maverick. Instead of feeling anger or bitterness like he had expected, Nathan had felt a great swell of pride when he saw Haley's name at the bottom of the list.

"Skills and I ran into each other at the merger party," Haley explained.

Nathan nodded in understanding even though it was obvious he had no idea what she was talking about.

"About a year ago, Epic was sold to the owners of Maverick so the two labels were under the same management but the owners decided to keep them as separate entities. The labels became like sisters," Haley continued.

"Oh," he said.

"It was kind of funny. He didn't recognize me at the time so he began to introduce himself as S.L., which is the name he went by in the music world. Only I had recognized him and called him Skills as he introduced himself to me," Haley remarked as she chuckled fondly at the memory. "His face went about fifteen different shades of pink."

"And the two of you joined forces?" Nathan asked, trying to keep the jealousy out of his voice but failing miserably. The unspoken question stuck out like a sore thumb and Haley had stiffened at the accusation.

"We worked on our music together and resurrected our friendship in the process," she informed him through gritted teeth.

"Sorry."

"Yeah," Haley commented and nodded in forgiveness.

"So Skills was a singer… why was he killed because of it?" Nathan asked.

"Skills was determined to make a statement with his new album," Haley replied. Nathan's brow furrowed and he looked at her expectantly. "Some of his songs were controversial because he chose to expose certain people he felt had sold out."

"Are you trying to tell me that Skills was killed because he insulted another singer?" Nathan asked in disbelief.

"He didn't just insult them, Nathan. He tore their image apart," Haley corrected.

"I can't believe you're defending them."

"I'm _not_!" Haley exploded furiously. Nathan visibly stiffened in surprise at her reaction. "I hate the bastard more than you can imagine. Skills was a very good friend of mine and now he's _gone_ all because he took a stand against a drug-dealing punk."

"Is that the image that Skills exposed in his song?" Nathan asked.

"He revealed that a musician that even I once admired for his talent had resorted to selling drugs to get his washed-out career back on track," she replied.

"I'm sorry, Haley," Nathan apologized.

"One minute he's singing along to one of the tracks in the living room of my apartment waiting for me to return with the demo of my newest song that he was dying to listen to and the next minute he's down on the floor while his life literally pours out of him," Haley went on and by now, the few sniffles had become painful sobs.

"He was killed in your living room?" Nathan asked in disbelief.

"Yes," Haley replied through her tears.

"How did you survive?" Nathan asked. If it were her apartment, the shooter most likely would have known that.

"Because the shooter was closing the door behind him while I was hiding in a closet. He didn't see me go in because he was bent over Skills checking his pulse at the time. He left right after that and then I called 911," Haley replied.

"But the papers said that your car had blown up outside your apartment," Nathan said.

"That was the next day. They must have realized that I actually was there and put the bomb under my car to kill me. It was really hot that morning so I left the door open to get some air in the car as I started the engine. It was a good thing I didn't have my seatbelt on yet. If I had to undo it, I wouldn't be here," Haley replied.

"So you got out of the car?" Nathan asked.

"Barely. Someone came by and found me. I ended up a few feet away from the debris and I was rushed to the hospital. They released me a few days later and I went straight to the police who brought me to the FBI," Haley replied.

"And they told you who killed Skills?" Nathan asked.

"No, I saw who killed Skills with my own two eyes. He's different than other punks because he actually does his own dirty work instead of hiring someone to do it for him," Haley replied.

"Who was it?" Nathan prodded.

"You wouldn't believe me even if I _did_ tell you," Haley said.

"Haley, come on. I've believed everything you've told me and I have no reason not to trust you," Nathan said.

Haley hesitated and Nathan reached his hand over and squeezed hers. "You can tell me anything," he said.

"Just tell me his name. That way, I'll be able to look him up so I can recognize him if I ever see him," Nathan said.

"You won't have any trouble recognizing him. Trust me," Haley said with amusement.

"I know him?" Nathan asked.

She nodded in response. "Unfortunately, we've _both_ known him for a long time."

"Haley, you have to tell me now," Nathan pleaded.

Haley took a deep breath and finally said, "Chris Keller."

* * *


	10. Chapter 10

_Thanks to **babyxbxgurl**, **AngelLuva**, **iftheyonlyknewthetruth**, **kutebloo**, **CCScott23**, **daisy31**, **NaleyLuvr23**, **kaos2405**, **xSmile**, **lindsay e.**, **Nathanlvr**, **mistydm**, **H.James-Scott**, **RedJewel2662**, **mary-023**, **chelle2911**, **theSnuffaluffigus**, **snowbabie**, **S0phiaVal3ntine**, **naleysocute**, **naley23lover101**, **naley-obsseshunz-xOx**, **TutorWife123**, **HaleyJamesScott2323** and **Lorilozz** for replying. Leave some words and enjoy. xx**Katy**xx_**

* * *

**

**Chapter Ten**

Rachel Gatina stood up and started applauding with the rest of the cheering fans. Number thirteen of the team with the red and blue jersey had just scored the winning point of the game. He was now a temporary hero. He was also her current boyfriend.

Fifteen minutes after the teams left the court to go to the locker room to shower and change, Rachel was leaning against the wall right next to the courtside entrance. He was the fourth to come out and when he did, Rachel raced over and covered his eyes with her hands.

"Guess who?" she playfully asked, caressing his temple with her thumb.

He put his hands up and entwined their fingers as he pulled her hands away. He turned around and kissed her in response. "Hey, babe. I've missed you," he whispered afterwards.

"I've missed you too, Damien," Rachel said softly.

The pair had dated for three years in high school while Rachel still lived in New York before she moved to Tree Hill and met Nathan. When she moved they had originally planned to keep a long-distance relationship going but after only three months of living in different states had called it quits.

They moved on with other people; her with Nathan and many others and he with some girl named Chelsea who he had dumped right after college. After he graduated, Damien went out of the country to play basketball for a European team, the name of Rachel didn't recall- she had never really cared for sports despite being a cheerleader throughout high school and college.

Three weeks after her and Nathan's rather unexpected and nasty- _him_, not her- break-up, Damien had called her up, announced his return to the States and his wish to see her immediately.

"I've forgotten what a good kisser you are," he confided as they walked to his car.

Rachel smiled giddily. He had always appreciated her. Unlike a certain ex-wife-obsessed basketball player that thought he was a hotshot. "You're not so bad yourself."

"You were great," she added sweetly. Truth be told, she had shown up for the last five minutes of the game and she might not know that much about the actual sport, she did know enough that him making the winning shot made him a great player. For that game, at least.

"Thank you," he said with a big grin as he pulled out of the parking lot and drove in the direction that led to his house.

* * *

"That Indie-wannabe punk is behind this whole thing?" Peyton asked Nathan in disbelief as they sat in Karen's Café that afternoon accompanied by Lucas. 

Haley had finally gotten asleep that afternoon after staying awake with Nathan for five more hours than usual. Nathan didn't want to upset her by bringing back more painful memories so he had insisted that they meet in town on a place that would be considered "safe".

Nathan gripped his fork tighter as he looked up to meet Peyton's questioning gaze. He nodded in confirmation.

"I can't believe he would try to kill Haley one minute after desperately courting her for so long," she said and shook her head in disgust.

"He'd been _what_?" Nathan exclaimed.

Peyton's eyebrows shot up in surprise. "Well, he's been pursuing her for the past few years. He even sued his former label for slander and misrepresentation in order to sign onto Maverick just to be near her."

"That low-down, rotten, sneaky, son of a-" Nathan started to ferociously growl until Lucas clamped a hand over his mouth.

"This is a place of business where young people gather that happens to be run by my _mother_," he said. Nathan looked at his brother as he clenched his jaw and Lucas sheepishly pulled his hand away.

"In other words," Peyton said as she flashed an amused smile, "Watch your language." Then she started giggling.

"He was putting the moves on Haley _again_?" Lucas asked.

"It's not that bad since she wasn't married like she was last time," Peyton said and glanced at Nathan.

"Tell me she turned him down," Nathan pleaded in as tough a voice he could muster.

Peyton smirked. "As I recall, Haley poured a glass of wine all over his suit when he finally got the nerve to ask her out at an awards ceremony," she mused.

"That's my girl," Nathan said proudly.

Lucas gasped.

Both Peyton and Nathan turned to look at him in bewilderment at the awed expression on his face.

"What?" Nathan asked.

"I've been waiting so long to hear you say that!" Lucas exclaimed and grinned.

Nathan rolled his eyes in response.

"Brooke has rubbed off on you in a big way," Peyton remarked.

"And that's not necessarily a good thing," Nathan added.

Lucas scowled. "I'm okay with that."

"Because I used a term of endearment in relation to Haley?" Nathan asked.

"Yes," he said. Nathan looked at him incredulously. "It means you're on the road to getting back together."

"Back to the matter at hand," Peyton said, pulling the brothers out of their spat.

"I want to kill Keller for what he's put her through," Lucas said.

"You are a secret service agent, Lucas- a good guy- so you can't kill for vengeance," Peyton chided.

Nathan smiled at his brother from across the table. "Give me your gun and I'll kill him for the both of us," he offered.

"You are a sports icon. If you get put away for murder, you'll crush the hearts of little kids all over the world," Peyton reminded.

Nathan shrugged carelessly. "If it protects Haley, I'm okay with that."

"What about your fans?" Peyton asked.

"My wife comes first," Nathan said.

Lucas smiled brilliantly. "I'm sorry, what did you say?"

"M-my… H-_Haley_ comes first, I mean," he stammered.

"Uh-huh," Lucas nodded.

Nathan leaned forward and said, "I almost lost her once because of Chris. I refuse to let him take her away again."

* * *

"So why wasn't Scott there? His team was playing," Damien asked at dinner. 

Rachel's cutlery clattered onto her plate as she looked up at him. "How should I know?"

"You two used to go out," he replied.

"How did you know?"

"I read about your split in the society pages," Damien said casually as he took a bite of his food. "Harsh."

"Nathan took some time off from basketball last I heard," Rachel said carelessly.

"Why?"

"Something to do with his ex-wife," Rachel answered.

Damien gave her a blank stare. If he had read that article correctly, Nathan and Rachel had been dating on and off for about six years. When did he get married?

"You know, the blonde cheerleader," she said, clearing up his confusion.

"Do you know how many blonde cheerleaders I've come to know?" he asked with a light chuckled.

"The one you were shamelessly hitting on during the tournament when Nathan beat you," Rachel reminded him.

Now it was Damien's cutlery that clattered onto his plate. "_That_ was his wife?"

"For a while. They got divorced during the summer before college," Rachel replied.

"Your handiwork no doubt?" he asked.

Rachel smiled wickedly. "I played my part."

"I'll bet," he said knowingly. "If she's been his ex for the past six years, why is he taking time off?"

"Because," Rachel said cryptically.

"What?" he prodded.

"She died," Rachel finally said.

* * *

Nathan drove his car up to his house and stopped when he saw an unfamiliar vehicle parked in his driveway. The hair on his neck stood up as he parked on the side of the road. He got out, shut his door quietly and made his way onto the driveway. 

He inched up as the driver opened his door, stuck their legs out and said, "It's about time, superstar!"

Nathan relaxed immediately and returned to a normal pace as he hugged the man who was now standing over him. Growing up, the man had remained taller than him and at least a foot taller than during his teen years but now Nathan towered over him by nearly three feet.

"Have you ever heard of calling first, Coop?" Nathan questioned the older man.

Cooper Lee laughed as they walked into the house together. "I've got a make an entrance. It's always been my thing," he replied.

They grabbed two beers from the kitchen, went into the living room and sat down.

"So, what brings you by?" Nathan asked.

Cooper took a swig and then set the bottle down on the table next to the phone. He stared at Nathan and sighed. "I'm sorry about Haley, Nate," he said.

Nathan winced and he shot his uncle a questioning look. What Cooper failed to realize was that Nathan was wondering what his uncle really knew. Instead, Cooper took the look to as a question about how he found out.

"Your mom called me a few weeks ago with the news," Cooper said.

"Haley died in the summer," Nathan informed him.

"I've been out of the country for the past few months," he replied.

"For work?" Nathan asked in confusion. He was a retired race car driver. Since when did that profession require you to travel especially when you were retired?

Cooper smiled as he held up his hand, revealing a silver wedding band and said, "On my honeymoon."

"You and Vanessa finally tied the knot, huh?" Nathan asked.

Cooper nodded. "Had to. She threatened to set my baby on fire if I didn't get down on one knee three days after her threat." His "baby" was his sports car that he one in his last race.

"What a spitfire," Nathan said.

Cooper wiggled his eyebrows. "You have no idea."

Nathan cringed. "Over share."

"Anyways on my way back from visiting with my sister, I figured I ought to pop in and pay my condolences," Cooper said.

Nathan raised an eyebrow at him. "And my mom didn't ask you to?"

"She might have," Cooper said.

"I thought so," Nathan said, nodding.

"She's worried about you," Cooper pointed out.

"I'm fine," Nathan said.

"Then why did you take time off?"

"Aha, I knew it!" Nathan exclaimed in victory.

"What?"

"My mom's concern is really my dad's. He knows that I won't let him set foot onto my property so he got mom upset so she sent you," Nathan said.

"You are paranoid," Cooper said.

"No, I'm wise when it comes to my father's ways," he corrected.

"Even if what you say is true, your dad's only worrying too."

"He's worried that he won't be able to brag to his friends about how his son made it to the top because of him, not my well-being," Nathan said.

"Basketball is your life; you've told me so many times. So when you take time off, it was the equivalent of an alarm sounding," Cooper said.

"I needed a break," Nathan said.

"So something is wrong," Cooper said.

"No. I've been playing non-stop for _years_. I don't get much vacation because even when I'm not playing, I'm training to stay in shape for the next season. Sometimes a person just needs a break from life," Nathan explained.

"Are you sure it has nothing to do with Haley?" Cooper asked.

"Positive," he replied.

His uncle stared at him and then shrugged. "If you say so," Cooper said.

Nathan rolled his eyes. "What?"

"Nothing."

"Don't give me that," Nathan said.

"What? I was agreeing with you," Cooper said.

"No, you were giving up but I saw it," Nathan said.

"Saw what?"

"A look," Nathan replied.

"A look?" Cooper echoed.

"You had a look in your eyes, thoughts were forming and your mouth was curving into a satisfied-smirk. I know that look. I've _had_ that look," Nathan said.

Cooper sighed. "I think you're feeling guilty."

"About what?" Nathan asked.

"About what you did to Haley," Cooper said.

"I ended things with Rachel," Nathan said.

"Six years after the fact but I wasn't talking about _that_," Cooper said, shaking his head dismissively.

"Then what were you talking about?" Nathan asked.

"The ultimatum you gave her before your accident," Cooper replied.

"You think I have guilt over that?" Nathan said in astonishment.

"It makes perfect sense when you think about it," Cooper insisted.

"Explain it to me," Nathan said.

Cooper nodded. "You made Haley choose between your marriage and her dream. She chose music and you got burned. Then, when she finally _did_ give up her music for you, you played her and now she's dead," he said.

"And?" Nathan asked.

"So you're giving up your dream for her as penance," Cooper said.

"That's ridiculous!" Nathan exclaimed.

"I don't think it is," Cooper said.

"Coop, I'm on a break. A break! I'm going back eventually," Nathan said.

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah."

"When?"

"That has yet to be determined," Nathan replied, realizing he had no idea.

"I thought so," Cooper said.

"Cooper, you've got it all wrong," Nathan said.

"Do I?" Cooper challenged.

"Yes, you do," Haley replied before Nathan had a chance to. She stopped near Cooper and folded her arms across her chest. "Hey, Cooper."

Cooper's jaw dropped. "You're alive?"

"Either that or you're _both_ hallucinating," Haley replied with an amused grin as she sat down beside Nathan on the couch.

"Now do you believe me?" Nathan asked.

"I kind of have to now, don't I?" Cooper retorted.

"Why?" Both Haley and Nathan asked.

"It makes sense that you if you started having hallucinations in which you were speaking to your dead wife as if she were right by your side, but I see her too," Cooper explained.

"And?" Haley asked.

"And I know I'm not crazy," Cooper replied.

* * *


	11. Chapter 11

_Thanks to **naleysocute**, **xSmile**, **chelle2911**, **RedJewel2662**, **naley23lover101**, **HaleyJamesScott2323**, **nathan023**,** AngelLuva**, **iftheyonlyknewthetruth**, **babyxbxgurl**, **mistydm**, **Sw33t Lavender**, **TutorWife123**, **SammiM**, **NaleyLuvr23**, **mary-023**, **HCLvr**, **tHaCoOkiEmOnStEr**, **CCScott23**, **S0phiaVal3ntine**, **coox** and **Cherry-Alanna** for replying. Leave some words and enjoy._

* * *

**Chapter Eleven**

"Brilliant," Damien declared as he and Rachel lay in bed together the next night.

"What?" Rachel asked as she laid her head on his chest.

"Your plot to take Haley away from Nathan was a work of sheer genius," he said, chuckling.

"You're proud of what I did?" she asked incredulously, raising her head to study his reaction.

"Of course I am. No one has ever done anything like that for me. You made it your mission to annihilate Scott's marriage to get back at him for humiliating me," Damien said.

"It took all my strength to cheer at that game and to pretend that I was infatuated with Nathan," she said.

"Were you actually pregnant or was that a lie too?"

"No, I was pregnant, just not by Nathan," she replied.

"Then by who?" he asked.

"It doesn't matter. The poor schmuck never knew I was only using him to get pregnant," she explained.

"But you lied to him. You made him think you were twenty-six instead of seventeen," he said.

"I did that to get him to sleep with me. He was like thirty; if he had known how old I really was at the time, he never would've had sex with me," Rachel replied.

"Then why didn't you let him continue to believe it? You told him how old you really were," Damien pointed out.

"He was getting too attached to me and I needed to make sure he was out of the picture for when I made my move," she replied.

"So you let him think that you were a lying, scheming, love-sick teenager so he could dump you without feeling bad about it?"

"Yes, of course. I know that it was wrong but I had a bigger agenda than feeling guilty over that," she replied.

"Scott got what he deserved for what he did to me and cheating on his wife. Yes, you seduced him but it's like they say, it takes two to tango. He could have stopped at anytime but he didn't, did he?"

"He tried to but I managed to change his mind," Rachel said.

"The only innocent person in this was his wife," Damien pointed out.

"Yeah and I feel horribly for what I did to her. I liked Haley; I had nothing against her but unfortunately, she meant the world to Nathan," she said.

"She attacked me at the game," Damien pointed out, trying to make her feel better.

"Only because you hurt Nathan when you tripped him. He was bleeding, Damien! Personally, I'd be disappointed if she didn't attack you," Rachel said.

"It's a shame she's dead," he said.

"Yeah," Rachel agreed. She turned her face away to hide her reaction to that.

"But you didn't have anything to do with that."

"I hated Nathan and as much as I wanted to destroy his life, I wouldn't kill someone to achieve that goal, especially Haley. That was someone else's doing," Rachel said.

"So you told me that Nathan dumped you a few times before," Damien said.

"A lot of times," she replied.

"You got him back every time before. Why didn't you last time?"

"Well, I knew you were coming back home and we agreed to get together when that happened. I've loved you my whole life, Damien. I stayed with that insufferable prick for six years to make sure he was as miserable as he made you when he humiliated you," Rachel said.

"And stole my shot," Damien added.

"Exactly," Rachel said.

"It didn't have anything to do with his wife's death?"

"Huh?"

"Well, your plan was to take Haley away from him and you stayed with him all these years to ensure he didn't get her back," he said.

"Yeah," Rachel replied.

"But she's dead now. He may come from a powerful family but no one can bring back the dead. He had lost her forever," Damien said.

Rachel blinked rapidly. It made perfect sense for someone who didn't know that Haley was really still alive so she could understand why he doubted her real reasons for finally letting Nathan go. She saw it clearly, though. Without Damien, she was miserable and the reason Damien had to leave the country and play overseas was because of that one game where Nathan beat him. So she figured she could make Nathan just as miserable as she was until her man came back.

She didn't feel the slightest bit of guilt over what she did to Nathan but Haley was another story. She had ruined the girl's life; taken away the one thing that Haley had ever wanted. Then Haley was forced to fake her death in order to save her life. Rachel knew Haley was unhappy about staying with Nathan at first but it was only because she was still mad at what Nathan had done to her.

She smiled. She felt guilty for destroying Haley's life and wished she could somehow make it up to her but she knew that in order to do that, she had to stay away because whoever had threatened Haley's life might succeed at reuniting Haley and Nathan.

"What are you thinking about?" Damien asked, pulling her closer against him.

"How happy I am that you're finally back," she replied.

He chuckled and planted a kiss on the top of her head.

--

"You're alive," Cooper said for the thousandth time since he came to visit his nephew. He walked into the kitchen and was shocked once again when he saw Haley and Nathan eating breakfast at the table.

Haley started laughing.

"Uncle Cooper, you've been here for almost a week which means you've known the truth for that long but every morning, you act surprised to see her," Nathan said.

"Yes, I've known a while but I also thought she was dead for months. It'll take a while for the fact that she's really alive to sink in," Cooper argued.

"Imagine how I feel," Haley said, interrupting the feuding relatives.

"What are you talking about?" Nathan asked, his concern immediately kicking into overdrive.

"You thought that I was dead for months," Haley said to Cooper. "I've been pretending to be dead for just as long which means I haven't set foot outside this house in months."

"Not once?"

"I'm not supposed to show my face, especially around here," Haley said.

"Why not?"

"Because the people that tried to kill her still think she's dead. If she were to set foot outside in her hometown and they caught wind of it…" Nathan started to explain but his sentence trailed off.

"I won't be pretending for much longer," Haley finished crudely.

"Exactly," Nathan said in agreement.

"Do your parents know?"

"No."

"You're letting them think that you're dead?"

"The FBI faked her death," he said.

"Actually, that's not true," Haley said.

"What?" Nathan demanded.

"I went to them after my car blew up, remember? The people already thought I was dead but I was really in the hospital recovering. I called them and they decided witness protection was the best course of action. They said they could let my family know I was all right but I told them not to," she said.

"Haley!" Nathan exclaimed.

"That's cruel," Cooper accused.

"It would be harder for them if they knew the truth," she said.

"I don't think it would be harder than thinking you're dead," Cooper said.

"I agree, Haley. I saw your mom at the funeral; she was devastated," he said.

"Before you condemn me, let me explain something to you," she said.

"I'm all ears," Nathan said.

"My situation in witness protection is unique. Normally, they would give me a new identity and send me to the middle of nowhere. I could call my family, probably once every two months but I wouldn't be able to tell them a thing about my life and the conversation would last no more than about ten minutes. I wouldn't even be able to discuss the weather because that could tip them off to where I am. If I did get a job, I couldn't tell them anything about it. Our discussions would be limited to their lives and they would be worrying about me all the time," Haley said.

"So you decided to let everyone think you're dead except Nathan?" Cooper asked.

"Actually, Lucas suggested that the FBI place her with me. Not many people knew that we were married and those that did know what happened so they wouldn't think she'd come to me," Nathan replied.

"It wasn't my choice to come here but I'm glad that I did," Haley said.

"Why?"

"I've always felt safe here," Haley said.

"Tree Hill is very peaceful," Cooper agreed.

Haley smiled in agreement despite the fact that he had misunderstood what she had said. The safest place she knew in the world was with Nathan, not Tree Hill. He had made a promise that he would always protect her and he had kept it, when she let him anyway.

She knew she wasn't the strongest or most capable person in the world but she had never been the damsel type of girl, which was why she rarely let Nathan protect her when they were married. After the marriage ended, she didn't want anything to do with him so she never would have gone to him for help. If it weren't for Lucas' meddling, she might already be dead so she was glad that Lucas was a hopeless romantic for once.

"So then Lucas knows you're alive too then?"

"Both he and I knew before her 'death' was announced," Nathan replied.

"Does anyone else know?" Cooper asked.

"Peyton knows," Haley replied.

"Peyton Sawyer?"

"Yes, I know and my name is Peyton Jagielski now," Peyton replied as she came into the living room.

"You married that guy with the kid that left you more than once?" Cooper asked.

"How do you know all that?" Peyton asked.

"Lucas told me," Cooper replied.

"When?" Peyton said, putting her hands on her hips. Why the hell would Lucas be telling Lucas' uncle about her past relationships?

"While you two were dating," Nathan replied.

Haley straightened up and stared at Peyton in disbelief. "You never told me that you and Luke dated."

"Well, we did back in college before I transferred to Savannah," Peyton replied.

"What happened?" Haley asked.

"Brooke changed her mind. She said she believed that the kiss meant nothing, that she forgave him and wanted him back," Peyton replied.

"But you two were dating," Haley pointed out.

"Yes, but Luke made it clear to me that he still loved Brooke and that it might never go away so when she decided she wanted him back, he went back to her," Peyton replied.

"And that's why she transferred," Nathan replied.

"I did not transfer schools because my boyfriend dumped me for another girl- I'm not Haley," Peyton said.

"Hey!" Haley exclaimed.

Peyton grimaced. "I didn't mean that the way it sounded."

Haley eyed her skeptically. "Then what did you mean?"

"I meant that I left to get my own life," Peyton replied.

"And to win Jake back," Haley added knowingly

Peyton rolled her eyes. "Eventually, yes."

"Get him back from whom?" Nathan asked.

"Nikki," Haley replied.

Nathan widened his eyes in disbelief. "You're kidding."

"No, she's not," Peyton replied.

"Jake actually took her back after she abandoned him and Jenny, pulled all that crap about custody and kidnapped his daughter?" Nathan asked.

"She really had cleaned her act up," Peyton informed them.

Haley snorted. "Sure she did."

"I'm serious," Peyton said.

"Some people are capable of change," Nathan said in Nikki's defence. He was referring to himself more than Nikki though.

"I know they can but I don't think Nikki is one of those people," Haley replied.

"You're such a cynic," Peyton accused.

Haley shrugged. "It's not like Nikki hasn't pretended to pull a 180 before so you'll forgive me if I remain skeptical."

"You obviously got Jake back. What happened to Nikki?" Cooper asked.

Haley's face lit up. "Go ahead," she said. There was a smug knowing look in her eyes. "Tell them what she did."

Peyton clenched her jaw. "She ran off with some guy."

Nathan turned to Haley. "Okay you were right about Nikki."

"So only Lucas, Peyton, Nathan and I all know that you're really alive?" Cooper asked.

Haley smirked. "Rachel knows but other than her, that's it."

"Rachel?" Cooper repeated in confusion.

"He never met her," Nathan explained.

"Who?" Cooper asked.

"Rachel Gatina is the woman that I was seeing," Nathan said.

"You're not talking about that home-wrecking redheaded hussy, are you?" Cooper asked.

"That's Rachel," Lucas replied for his brother.

"Nathan!" Cooper exclaimed.

"You knew about her, Coop. Nathan told you he dumped her," Haley reminded him.

"I didn't think she was the same girl!" Cooper said.

--

"What a night," Nathan said as stopped at Haley's opened bedroom door on his way to his own room.

"I'll say," Haley agreed and then started laughing. "I forgot how frustrating dealing with your family was."

He walked into the room and sat down at the foot of the bed. "Dealing with your family wasn't exactly easy either if I remember," he reminded her.

"They still aren't but I don't know what you're complaining about- they like you more than me," she said.

"Your dad wasn't my biggest fan at the beginning," he said.

Haley nodded in agreement as she remembered when they had asked her parents for permission to get married. "I guess that's true."

"And then there's your sister," Nathan added.

"You only met Taylor and she is the craziest one," Haley said.

"So they're _all_ crazy?" he asked.

"No!" Haley exclaimed.

"I'm thankful I didn't have to deal with your overprotective brothers," Nathan said.

"They were at the funeral, weren't they?" she asked.

"Yeah, they were but I was talking about while we were married," he replied.

Haley shrugged.

"What?" he asked.

"I don't think they would've given you a lot of trouble," she said.

He arched his eyebrows. "You don't?"

"No, I don't. If they had come for a visit they would have seen how happy I was and that was because of you," she replied.

He tried not to smile at that but he couldn't help it. "You're still their baby sister," he said.

Haley nodded. "I never said they wouldn't give you _any_ trouble. I said they wouldn't give you a lot."

"They were crying," he told her.

"Who was?" Haley asked.

"Your brothers were crying at your funeral," he explained.

Her eyes widened. "Shut up. They were not."

"Your whole family was. Brooke had a wad of tissues in her purse and when she was done her speech she had to get another wad. Peyton was even worse. Luke looked miserable even though he knew you were still alive," Nathan said.

"Wow," Haley remarked.

"What?" he asked.

"I never knew so many people cared," she replied.

"Well, they do. You mean the world to us," he said.

"Us?" Haley echoed.

"Do you remember what I said?" he asked.

"Of course," she replied.

"It's still true," he said.

"I know," she admitted.

His brow furrowed. "You do?"

"That's why I feel safe here," she replied.

"You weren't talking about Tree Hill," he realized.

"No, I was talking about you," she said. She pulled him to her and wrapped his arms around her as she looped hers around his neck. He tightened his arms around her. She pulled her head back to look him in the eyes. "Could you please kiss me already?"

He smiled as he leaned down and kissed her.

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	12. Chapter 12

_Thanks to **luvnaley23**, **RedJewel2662**, **Evenin' Prim Rose**, **HaleyJamesScott2323,** **troryrogan**, **MrsLucasScott**, **Sw33t Lavender**, **iftheyonlyknewthetruth**, **sabriina'**, **CCScott23**,** Lorilozz**, **theSnuffalfuuigus**, **chelle2911**, **AngelLuva**, **TutorWife123**, **xSmile**, **asharp4** and **sugary sweet** for replying. Leave some words and enjoy. xx**Katy**xx_**

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Chapter Twelve

Nathan groaned when Haley started to lie down, pulling him down onto her. She deepened their kiss even further and her exploring hands began sliding under his shirt. He felt like he was losing his mind when her right hand brushed against the button on his jeans.

"Hales," he moaned. He couldn't take it anymore and began his own exploration of her body. He knew it so well and yet, it felt as if he were crossing uncharted territory. He reached under the fabric of her own shirt and slid his hand across her stomach and immediately found what he was seeking as he cupped one of her breasts.

As soon as it happened, Haley let out a small whimper. "Nathan," she breathed out a silent plea that he recognized all too well. He knew what she was asking for and found himself more than willing to oblige because he couldn't deny that he'd been craving the same thing ever since she had shown up at his door.

He stopped kissing her for a minute as he took of his shirt and then took her mouth in a passionate kiss. Then his mouth left hers as he began trailing kisses down her neck, smiling against her skin at the soft moan that escaped her lips.

She felt him fumble with the button on her jeans and as he was about to try a second time, reality came back to her and she moved his hands away from her.

"What's wrong?" He questioned as he leaned in for a kiss.

She shrank back and shook her head insistently. "I can't," she said.

He froze and stared down at her incredulously. "What?"

"We can't do this," she said rationally as she handed him his shirt and buttoned her own back up.

"But I thought-" he started and let his sentence trailed off.

"I know and I'm really sorry," she started to apologize but he started nodding in understanding.

He got up from the bed and kissed her on the cheek. "I'll see you in the morning," he said.

She smiled. "Yeah."

He walked out the door and was halfway down the hall before he returned.

"What?" she asked when she noticed him leaning against the doorway.

"I just want to know why," he said.

"Nathan," Haley began.

"You can tell me," he said.

She knew she was asking if it was because she was still mad at him especially since she had initiated the action. "Because I'm not ready to go that far with you again, Nathan," she said.

"Oh," he said.

"Do you remember when I came back from the tour and it took us a while to get back to each other?" she asked as he was leaving.

"Yeah," Nathan replied.

"You told me you were afraid of being vulnerable with me again after I hurt you the way I did," she said.

He remembered all too well but merely nodded. "You're afraid?"

"No, I'm not afraid. I'm just not _ready_ to be vulnerable again," she said.

"Will you ever be ready?" he asked.

Her eyes narrowed slightly at the bitterness in his tone. "I love you."

His eyes widened at the admission.

"Don't act so surprised," she said.

"I'm not acting," he said, the ghost of a smirk on his face. "I am genuinely surprised."

"Well, you shouldn't be. I never said I didn't love you," she pointed out.

"No, you said you hated me," he reminded her.

"I did," she said with conviction. He winced; he didn't think it was possible for words to hurt so much. "You broke my heart and I hated you for it and you have no one to blame but yourself for that."

"I know," he said.

"But I never stopped loving you," she said.

"I love you too," he said.

She smiled as a tear slid down her face.

"What's wrong?"

"I'm not ready to be with you again but I do know that I need you now," she said.

"You have me," he said.

She cocked her head to the side. "Do I?"

"Yes," he said and sat down on the bed next to her again. "I promised to protect you and I always will. I'm here for you, Haley. You're not alone this time."

"Thank you," she said as she hugged him.

"You're welcome," he told her and hugged her back.

Then a car pulled into the driveway. They heard a car door being slammed shut. Haley pulled away and looked at him questioningly. He was about to suggest that it might be Lucas when the front door opened and was slammed shut. Definitely not Lucas; he was far too polite to barge into his brother's house even if he did have a key.

"Stay here," he told her as he began to get up but she pulled him back down beside her.

"Do you know who that is?" she asked.

He was about to answer when a booming voice yelled, "Nathan!"

Haley went white as the recognition registered in her eyes.

Nathan gave her a look that told her to stay put and he left the room, closing the door quietly behind him. Once in the hallway, he opened his own bedroom door and slammed it shut with a thundering crash and walked downstairs to greet his unwelcome guest.

"Dad."

Dan Scott turned to the stairs to face his son. "What took you so long?" He looked behind him and up the stairs curiously.

Nathan ignored the implication that he had a woman upstairs. If only he knew that he didn't just have a woman up there with him, but that the woman was his wife.

"I had headphones on while I was working," he quickly explained as he led his as far away from the stairs as possible and into the kitchen.

"Working?" Dan repeated.

"Yes," Nathan replied, letting his irritation be known.

"What could you possibly be working on seeing as how your season is now over?" Dan asked.

"What are you talking about?" Nathan asked dumbly.

"You may be able to keep it out of the press, but nothing escapes my many ears," Dan said.

"Which 'ear' told you?" he asked.

"That's not important," Dan said.

"I want to know who your source is so I can have them fired," Nathan said.

"What were you thinking?"

"I wouldn't expect you to understand," he said.

"You have so much left to achieve on that team. I know you're upset right now but these things happen," he said.

"It's a leave of absence," Nathan said defensively.

"And you're going to return eventually but for now, you're taking time off," Dan finished for him.

Nathan was silent.

"Your uncle can be quite the little puppet. You can imagine my surprise to discover you weren't actually behind him, pulling his strings. Incompetent fool," Dan fumed.

"Don't insult Cooper. This isn't about him," Nathan said.

"You're right. I know who this is about," Dan said.

"Dad, don't start," Nathan began to say but he was way too late.

"And there is no reason in the world for you to kill your career over an act of misguided penance," Dan said.

"I swear that that is not what it is. I know that's how it looks but it's really not. I just need some time," Nathan began.

"Drowning yourself in grief is not the answer and _she_ wouldn't want you to," he said.

"Don't," Nathan exploded furiously. "Don't you dare do that!"

"Do what?" Dan asked.

"You've done a lot of low down, despicable things but you will not use this to get me to play," Nathan said.

"I'm only doing what Haley would want-" Dan started to argue.

"You don't know what Haley wanted for me because you didn't know Haley!" Nathan said.

"She's gone."

"I will not let you use her memory."

"She was your wife."

"Which is why I don't need you to tell me what she wanted for me because I already know; whatever I wanted, she wanted it for me because she loved me," Nathan said. Dan nodded in agreement. "She would never try to manipulate me like you always do."

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	13. Chapter 13

_Thanks to **mistydm**, **Lorilozz**, **AngelLuva**, **asharp4**, **Nathanlvr**, **chelle2911**, **sluver15**, **coox**,** luvnaley23**, **mary-023**, **DayDreamer323**, **TutorWife123**, **MrsLucasScott**, **tHaCoOkiEmOnStEr**, **CCScott23**, **daisy31** and **xSmile** for replying. Leave some words and enjoy.** Katy**_**

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**Chapter Thirteen**

"You're reacting emotionally," Dan pointed out. His nostrils flared in disgust as if emotions were demons.

Nathan's eyes narrowed. "I get that way when people try to use my grief against me."

"I am only looking out for you, Nathan," Dan began. Nathan gave him a doubtful look but it seemed to roll right off his shoulders. "You're telling yourself that this is just a break but if you don't go back now, you never will."

"And what if I don't?" Nathan asked. His question was only meant to be speculation but after seeing his father's reaction, his mind started to consider what life would be like without the pressure. "Is that really such a bad thing?"

"You'd be walking away from your dream, son," Dan said. Nathan rolled his eyes. "There are a lot of things I don't understand but regret is the one thing I understand better than anyone."

Nathan met his father's gaze with a tortured look now in his eyes. "I don't know about that. Regret and I are very well acquainted."

Dan gave him a curious look as he asked, "What are you talking about?"

"It's not important," he said.

Dan scoffed. "Be as mysterious as you like. But don't be stupid."

"I think it's time for you to leave," Nathan said.

Dan looked around the house. "Are you expecting company?" he asked.

"No, but my current guest is getting on my nerves," Nathan said.

"Fine," Dan relented as he started to fish his keys out of his pocket on the way down the stairs. He opened the door and turned around to look at Nathan. "Do call your mother a little more often. She worries about you." And then he left.

"I should've known better than to think he would ever change," Haley commented as she came downstairs.

Nathan stared at her. "Why would he?" he asked.

Haley smirked. "A lot of people grow into better people as they age," she said.

"My dad got even colder and more calculating along with grey hair," he said.

"He's still obsessed with you," Haley stated.

Nathan shook his head. "It's not _me_ he's obsessed with, it's basketball. I play pro and I have the unfortunate luck of being his son," he explained.

"How's your mom?" Haley asked.

Nathan squinted his eyes. "Why do you ask?"

"I heard about some of her problems after I left," Haley replied.

"You mean popping pills?" he asked.

"Did she go back to rehab?" Haley asked.

"After Karen forced her too," he replied.

"Did it help?"

"That's a matter of opinion," Nathan said.

"You don't think it did?" she asked.

"For now but as long as she stays with that sociopath, it's only a matter of time before she starts taking them again," he replied.

Haley opened her mouth to respond but a knock on the door stopped her. She turned to Nathan again and looked at him questioningly.

"I'm not expecting anyone," he replied, eyeing her curiously.

"Don't look at me; I'm supposed to be dead," Haley said and covered her mouth to muffle her laughter after he glared at her.

"I wonder who it is," he remarked.

"Well, there's only one way to find out," she replied, gesturing to the front door.

Nathan rolled his eyes and opened the door. "Oh, hey, Peyton. Come on in."

"Thanks, Nathan," Peyton said as she walked in the front door.

He started to close the door but someone blocked it.

"It's very rude to close the door on a guest," a man grumbled as he pushed the door wide open and came in.

"Hey, Jake!" Nathan said, shaking the amateur comedian's hand.

"Hey, Nathan," Jake said as he followed his wife up the stairs.

Peyton quickened her pace and disappeared. While they were coming around the corner to head into the kitchen, she came back downstairs with a puzzled look on her face. "Where is she?"

Nathan glared at her as he shrugged at her innocently. "Who?"

"Haley," Peyton replied, looking at him incredulously. "Duh."

He paled as he widened his eyes at her. "Have you lost your mind?"

"No, it's floating around up there quite nicely," Peyton replied. She began looking outside the window into the backyard. "Is she outside?"

Nathan was about to lie and say that Haley was dead when he caught sight of the smirk on Jake's face. He glared at Peyton and sighed. "You told him?"

Peyton started laughing. "Of course I did."

"Come on out of hiding, Haley!" Jake called.

"No one is supposed to know she's dead. The fact that she's really a live is supposed to be a secret. You'd think someone in the secret service would know what secret means," Nathan said.

"I don't keep secrets my husband especially when the secret pertains to the life of one of his friends," Peyton retorted.

One of the doors upstairs closed with a thundering crash and Haley came downstairs with a furious look on her face. "Frankly, I don't care if you're forced to lie to your husband. My life depends on you keeping your mouth _shut_!" she said.

Then she turned to Jake with a brilliant smile on her face and said, "Hey, Jake. Welcome to the ever growing, 'Haley's Really Alive Club'. It's nice to see you again."

"Why are you so angry at me? _You've_ told more people than I have," Peyton asked.

"I've only told one person directly," Haley replied.

"Then how is it that Rachel knows?" Peyton asked.

"Because she was here the day the FBI approached Nathan," Haley replied.

"And Nathan's Uncle Cooper?" Peyton asked.

"He's the person I told," Haley replied.

"And I only told _you_," Nathan said, speaking for the first time in a while.

"Because I needed your help," Haley added.

Peyton looked at them and realized that this was the first time they had agreed on something since she'd found out about Haley. "You're _defending_ Nathan?" she asked.

"He's right," Haley said.

Her eyes bulged in her sockets. "You're agreeing with him _too_?" She looked around the room for a minute and then smiled. "Things have certainly changed around here." Then she left the room.

"Peyton?" Jake called after her but she was already in the living room.

They followed her and found her gazing around the room as if she were looking for something.

"What's wrong?" Haley asked, coming closer to Peyton.

"I'm just feeling a little woozy, that's all," she said, holding onto Haley for support. "I need to sit down."

"I told you we shouldn't have come here. It's not a good idea for people in your condition to travel," Jake said.

She rolled her eyes. "On airplanes going to another country," Peyton corrected her husband.

"What condition?" Nathan asked.

Haley's eyes widened and her entire face lit up. "Oh, my God, Peyton!" She shrieked as she ran over to her friend, leaned down and hugged her.

"What am I missing?" Nathan asked, turning to Jake for some help.

"Peyton's been on fertility drugs for the past two years," Jake explained.

"And they finally worked," Peyton remarked, gently pushing Haley off of her. "I'm pregnant."

"Congratulations," Nathan said happily.

Haley's smile vanished as she studied Peyton. "But that can't be why you came," she realized.

"Luke called me," Peyton said.

"What did he want?" Nathan asked. His brother and Brooke were in California on vacation. At least, Lucas was on vacation, but Brooke's clothing line Clothes Over Bros Upscale had been picked up for a fashion show in Hollywood.

"He got a call from the FBI a few days ago," Jake said.

"They finally gathered enough evidence to indict Chris for murder," Peyton said.

Haley started to tremble. "When will they arrest him?"

"They arrested him this morning," Peyton replied.

"What about what he did to Haley?" Nathan asked.

"They can't file a public indictment for what he did to Haley because nobody knows she's really alive. But she will be testifying against him for the Skills' murder," Peyton said.

"So he gets away with trying to blow me up?" Haley demanded.

"No," Peyton said.

"If they're not charging him for what he did to me, that means he's getting away with it," Haley argued.

"When you testify, you will tell them about what you saw and why everyone thinks you're dead. And after that trial is finished, win or lose, the District Attorney will file charges against him for your attemptive murder," Peyton explained.

"So I have to testify twice?" Haley asked.

"Four times," Peyton corrected.

"Four?" Nathan repeated.

"It seems Chris didn't act alone after all. He had accomplices," Jake said.

"How many?" Haley asked.

"Two," Peyton replied.

Haley gave Peyton a serious look as she inched closer. "Who are they?" she asked.

"Your back-up singer was one of them," Peyton replied.

"Tania helped Chris?" Haley asked in disbelief.

"It appears so," she said.

"Why?" Nathan asked.

"Well, she was jealous of Haley because she made it big so fast and she hated Skills' message," Peyton explained.

"Why would she care who Skills made fun of?" Haley said.

"Apparently, she was seeing one of them," Peyton said.

Haley shook her head. "No. That's impossible."

"Why?" Nathan asked.

"I think Haley is surprised because Tania was Skills' fiancée," Peyton said.

Haley nodded insistently. "And there is no way she would jeopardize her relationship with Skills for Chris."

"I didn't say it was Chris, Haley. It wasn't," Peyton replied.

"Who was it then?" Nathan asked.

Peyton pulled out a picture and showed it to them. "His name is Tony Battle and he's a producer now but used to be a rapper," Peyton replied.

Nathan stiffened at the name and stared down at the picture in disbelief.

"No way," he and Haley said at the same time.

"How do you know him, Nathan?" Jake asked.

"We went to High Flyers together," he said.

Haley looked at him. "Tony Battle is High Flyers' Tony?"

"Yeah," Nathan replied. When he returned to Tree Hill after High Flyers and he and Haley had reconciled, he had told her all about the people he had encountered at the camp. Tony was the one he had gotten closest to.

"He was Skills' best friend," Haley said in disgust.


	14. Chapter 14

_Thanks to **snowbabie**, **luvnaley23**, **MrsLucasScott**, **daisy31**, **mary-023**, **Nathanlvr**, **Natz95**, **SLUVER15**, **CCScott23**, **xSmile**, **chelle2911**, **asharp4**, **Hera Agathon**, **TutorWife123**, **SnowWhite213**, **NaleYLuV01** and **NaleyyIsLove** for replying. Leave some words and enjoy. Katy_

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Chapter Fourteen

"That no good bastard!" Haley cursed.

Nathan woke up with a start and looked around the room. He was in Haley's bedroom; in Haley's bed and she was lying right next to him. "How?" he wondered out loud.

Haley turned her attention to him. "Good morning."

He looked at her, wondering what state of dress she was in. He breathed out a sigh of relief to find that she was in her nightgown. He looked at his own clothes. He was in boxers.

"Nothing happened," Haley said, pulling him out of his trance.

"Are you sure?" he asked stupidly.

Her eyes narrowed in amusement. "Yes," she replied. "Don't you remember?"

Nathan closed his eyes and focused on the previous night. He remembered finding out that Tony had conspired with Chris Keller and Tania Chanover to kill Skills. He also recalled Peyton and Jake leaving in a hurry because Jake had an early meeting the next day. Jake was now an accountant for a huge law firm in New York.

A picture of Haley lying in her bed, sobbing heavily entered his mind and then he remembered. He had been walking towards his room and passed Haley's on his way, hearing her sobbing. He opened the door, came to the bedside and asked her if there was something he could do for her.

_The past_

Nathan reached down and put his hand on her lower back and began rubbing circles around it soothingly. "Is there anything I can do?" he asked softly.

Haley reached out to him and pulled him down into a sitting position on the bed. She then wrapped her arms around him, clinging to him. "Stay with me," she whispered in response.

_The present_

And he had. He stayed with her all night, even slept next to her, holding her close to him in a tight embrace until she began sleeping. But he didn't leave. Something inside him had refused to push her off him, get out of the bed and go to his own room.

"Are you feeling any better?" Nathan asked.

Haley shook her head. "I just can't understand why Tania cheated on Skills and why Tony would betray his best friend like that. I'm appalled that they were involved in his murder."

"They probably had their reasons. I cannot even begin to fathom what they are though," he said.

"There is no acceptable reason," Haley said firmly.

"I agree," he said.

"For cheating on him or killing him," she added.

Nathan was silent. He didn't know what he should say. If he said he didn't agree, then that would bring up his own adultery during their marriage and he didn't want her to hate him again. He did in fact agree with her but if he voiced his opinion, his own reasons for cheating on her would be brought into question once again. Either way, he was screwed.

"They should rot in prison for what they've done," Nathan said.

"I can't wait for trial," Haley announced. Nathan turned to face her in disbelief. He was dreading that day. "When I walk into court and watch as that smug smile on Keller's face disappears."

"He almost killed you," Nathan pointed out.

"But I survived and I can't wait to see the look on his face when he realizes that he failed," Haley replied.

"The jury will hate his guts after your testimony," Nathan commented, smirking at the thought.

Haley grinned mischievously. "I will show them a side of Chris Keller few have ever seen."

--

"The People have failed to meet their burden of proof, Your Honour. I move for an immediate mistrial with apologies from the court for dragging my client's good name through the mud," Sven Vladimir, defence counsel for Chris Keller, said.

"Do not make me hold you in contempt, Counsellor. The People have not rested their case and even if they were to do so, right now they have enough circumstantial evidence to land a conviction," Judge Molly Christian replied.

Then she turned to Deputy District Attorney, Roberto Martinez. "Do you have any witnesses left?" she asked.

"We do, Your Honour," Martinez replied.

"Then proceed," Judge Christian said.

"The People call Miss Haley Scott to the stand," Martinez said.

Haley, along with Agents Kendall and Harris walked through the door. They led her down the narrow aisle between seven long rows of benches for the press, family of the victim and support for the defendant.

When she laid eyes on Tania and Tony, Haley stopped walking for a moment and expertly stared them down with hatred in her eyes. Tania's mouth had fallen open and her eyes had bulged out of her sockets. She then turned to Tony and muttered something incoherent. Tony shook his head at her, turned to Chris and gestured to Haley, as he said, "She's supposed to be dead!"

She passed through the small entrance to where the prosecution and defence tables were. A bailiff came forward, took her by the hand and quickly led her to the witness stand. She sat down and was sworn in.

Vladimir was on his feet in record time. "Objection!"

The judge rolled her eyes tiredly and looked at him. "What is it _now_?" she asked.

"This woman has been thought to be dead for eight months," Vladimir said.

"An attempt was made against her life. The only way to protect her was to let people believe she was dead. Miss Scott has been under care of the FBI in witness protection," Martinez interjected before Judge Christian had a chance to respond.

"You are obligated to let the defence know of any witnesses. Miss Scott has never been on the witness list," Vladimir said, looking at Martinez only.

"Yes, she was," Martinez said. He picked up a folder, highlighted a name on the witness list and handed one copy to the judge and the other to Vladimir.

Vladimir rolled his eyes as he read the name aloud, "Emma Hart."

Martinez smiled. "Emma Hart is an alias given to Miss Scott while in witness protection. Had you bothered to do background checks on our witnesses like any good attorney would know to do, you would have discovered that it was Haley Scott living under an assumed name."

Sven Vladimir turned to the judge. "Your Honour, the People are using tactics that not only deprived my client of his right to face his accuser, but they are making a mockery of your courtroom."

"This is not the first time a witness has been placed in the witness protection program and showed up out of blue when everyone assumed said witness was dead and it will not be the last, I assure you," Judge Christian said. Then she turned to Martinez. "Your witness."

"Miss Scott, how long have you known the victim, Antwon Taylor?" Martinez asked.

"I've known Skills since childhood. We met in Tree Hill when we were eight years old through a mutual friend," Haley replied, casting a look at Lucas who was seated in the fourth row on the prosecution's side of the courtroom.

"And how did you run into him later on in life?" Martinez asked.

"Skills was signed to Epic Records and I was signed to Maverick Records. About a year and a half ago, Epic was sold to the owners of Maverick and while most assumed that since they were under the same management, the two labels would join together into a new label but instead, management decided to keep them as separate entities," Haley started to explain.

"So you were competitors in the music industry?" Martinez concluded.

Haley shook her head. "We remained separate but became sister labels. A merger party was thrown and that's where I ran into Skills again."

"And that's when you two started working together?" Martinez asked.

"Yes. We agreed to co-produce each other's albums," Haley replied.

"And were you working together on May 12?" he asked.

"Yes, we were doing the finishing touches on the chorus of one of the songs on Skills' album," Haley replied.

"And then what happened?" Martinez prodded.

"Skills asked if I had recorded the demo to a song I'd told him about. I had and he begged me to let him hear it. I went to my bedroom to grab the CD and that's when Chris showed up," Haley replied.

"The defendant Chris Keller showed up to your apartment? Was he working with the two of you?" Martinez asked.

"No, he wasn't working with us. I refused to ever work with Chris again four years ago," Haley replied.

"Then why was he there?" Martinez asked.

"He was there to confront Skills about one of his new songs. In the song, Skills made his distaste for Chris clear," Haley replied.

"So Chris was there to try to stop him from releasing this song?" Martinez asked.

"Chris threatened to sue Skills for slander if he released the song on his album," Haley replied.

"And how did Skills respond?"

"He laughed. Skills said that Chris could sue him until he was blue in the face because once his album was released, the damage to Chris' reputation would already be done," Haley replied.

"And what did Chris do after that?" Martinez asked.

"He pulled out a gun and told Skills that he had thirty seconds to reconsider or die," Haley said.

"And then?"

"Skills tried to reason with Chris, begged him to put the gun away and leave before he did something he would regret," Haley said. She stopped for a minute and dabbed at her eyes with the sleeve of her shirt. "Chris shot him twice and then left."

"Where were you during all this?" Martinez asked.

"At first, I was in the doorway of my bedroom but Skills spotted me and when Chris pulled the gun out, Skills looked at me and then gestured to a closet in the hallway. I hid there until Chris left," Haley replied.

"And a few days later, you were presumed dead?" Martinez replied.

"One morning, three days later, I think, I went to my car to drive to work. I tripped on the driveway and the contents of my purse spilled out. I didn't know it until I got in the car but I dropped my keys on the driveway. So I had to open my door to pick them up. I put them in the ignition and turned on the engine. My car exploded and I was thrown four feet away from the blast," Haley replied.

"You survived an attempt on your life because you dropped your keys?" Martinez asked.

"I was lucky. _Very_ lucky that I'm a klutz," Haley said.

"What happened next?" Martinez asked.

"I woke up in the hospital. The FBI was there," Haley replied.

"And they placed you into witness protection," Martinez said.

"They put me into the program, gave me a false name but were having difficulty finding a place to stash me because of what I do," Haley said.

"Where did you end up staying?" Martinez asked.

"On the advice of someone in the Secret Service, they turned to my ex-husband for help," Haley said.

There was a ruckus in the court at the news that Haley Scott had once been married.

Martinez's jaw dropped as he stared at her in disbelief. "You were married?"

"For a brief period, yes, I was married to Nathan Scott," Haley replied.

"The basketball player?" Maritnez sputtered.

"Yes," Haley replied, "And I've been living with him for the past eight months."

"That must have been quite an ordeal for you," Martinez said.

"I thought it was going to be very difficult. And it _was_ at first but Nathan helped me through this," Haley said.

"Thank you, Miss Scott," Martinez said. He turned on his heel and sat down at the prosecution table.

Sven Vladimir rose. "It must have been difficult for you to live in hiding for so long."

"It was," Haley said.

Vladimir smirked. "But apparently you've reconnected with your ex."

"In a way, yes, but that doesn't change the fact that I was in hiding. I had to lie to my family and friends. My fans and everyone else in the world thought I was dead and I basically was because of your client," Haley replied.

"This source inside the Secret Service that led the FBI to your ex-husband- who is it?" Vladimir asked.

"Lucas Scott," Haley replied.

Chris leaned over and whispered something to his lawyer who then turned to Haley with a bright smile on his face. "Ah, your former brother-in-law and childhood best friend," Vladimir said.

"Yes," Haley replied.

"So he knew you were alive," Vladimir said.

"Yes."

"Who else knew?" Vladimir asked.

"Lucas' partner, Peyton Jagielski, her husband, Rachel Gatina and Nathan's uncle," Haley replied.

"Six people from your life knew you weren't really dead," Vladimir said.

"Objection; Miss Scott is not on trial here," Martinez said.

"Maybe she should be," Vladimir commented.

"That's enough, Counsellor. Ask questions that actually have relevance or I'll excuse Miss Scott," Judge Christian said.

"How long have you known my client, Miss Scott?" Vladimir asked.

"I've known Chris for about eight years," Haley replied.

"You went on tour with him, did you not? Recorded a duet with him too?" Vladimir asked.

"I was seventeen at the time and the duet was what led Michelle Branch to invite me on tour with her, Jessica Harp, Gavin DeGraw and Chris; I didn't know your client for who he really is back then," Haley replied.

"You two share a romantic past, don't you?" Vladimir asked.

Nathan turned to glare at Chris from where he was sitting. That bastard had a lot of nerve to use that mistake against Haley.

Haley scoffed. "We kissed _once_ and your client was the one who initiated it. After that, the attraction was purely one-sided. Your client's, not mine."

"The kiss must have meant something otherwise you never would have left your husband for him," Vladimir said.

"I did _not_ leave my husband for Chris. I left to go on tour and returned before the tour ended to try to fix my marriage," Haley replied.

"Given the fact that you now call Nathan Scott your ex, I'm assuming you failed," Vladimir stated.

Haley shook her head. "We worked things out and renewed our vows."

"Then why are you no longer married?" Vladimir asked.

Haley froze. If she answered that question honestly, it would reflect badly on him, but if she didn't answer, she would be perjuring herself and the jury would be less inclined to believe her.

Nathan nodded at her, signalling it was okay for her to tell the truth.

"Nathan and I got married when we were really young. We tried our best to make it work but we both wanted different things. I wanted a life in music and he wanted a career in the NBA," Haley replied.

"So your marriage ended because you were headed in different directions," Vladimir concluded.

Haley sighed and shook her head at Nathan. She couldn't do that to him. "No, it ended because I walked away from him."

"Why?" Vladimir asked.

"I had my reasons," Haley replied. "I don't feel comfortable discussing them in open court."

--

"Brooke, calm down," Lucas said, taking a step forward to his wife.

Tears were welling up in her eyes and she stepped away from her husband. "You've been lying to me for months and you expect me to be calm?" she shrieked.

"I had to lie to you," Lucas said.

"I was mourning the loss of a friend for months but Haley was alive the whole time and you knew!" Brooke exclaimed.

"And if I had told you the truth, it would put Haley in danger," Lucas said.

"Oh, spare me. I would never do anything to harm Haley," Brooke said.

Lucas shook his head. "Of course you wouldn't," he said, walking closer to her and putting a soothing hand on her shoulder. "Not intentionally."

"You have very loose lips, Brooke. You could have spilled to the wrong person," Peyton said.

Brooke turned on her. "I would not."

"You told me that Nathan got Rachel pregnant and didn't realize you had opened your mouth until afterwards," Peyton said.

Brooke bit her lip and glared at Peyton with daggers in her eyes.

Lucas turned to his wife with a look of disbelief in his eyes. "You told her about that?" he asked.

"It was an accident," she insisted.

"And there was no guarantee you wouldn't have accidentally told someone about Haley like you did when you told me about Rachel," Peyton said.

Brooke rolled her eyes. "All right, you've made your point, Peyton. Now, zip it. You're only digging me in deeper here."

"I can't believe you told. You promised you wouldn't say anything," Lucas said.

"Well, you let me think one of my friends was dead for months. I was in misery while you, Nathan, Peyton and Jake knew the truth the whole time!" Brooke exclaimed.

"I didn't know the whole time. I found out a month ago," Jake said.

"Neither did I. They brought me in on it because Haley needed clothes," Peyton said.

Brooke's eyes blazed. "You went to Peyton for fashion advice instead of me?!"

"Peyton is in the secret service and now she's my partner. You're a civilian," Lucas replied.

Brooke scoffed. "I'm your wife and a fashion designer. I know clothes," she said.

Peyton nodded in agreement with Brooke. "That's why I asked you to shop with me for Haley's clothes."

"I shopped for Haley?" Brooke asked, wrinkling her eyebrows in confusion. "When?"

"The same day you told me about Rachel," Peyton replied.

"I thought that was for some girl in witness protection that witnessed a murder," Brooke said.

"It was. That girl was Haley," Peyton said.

"And thanks a lot for your help, Brooke," Haley said, as she and Nathan came out of the courtroom and joined the old friends.

Brooke smiled. "Haley, I'm so glad you're not dead," she said, catching Haley off guard with a hug.

"Uh, thanks, Brooke," Haley said, hugging her back.

When the hug was over, Brooke walked back over to Lucas. "So I told Peyton about Nathan and you didn't tell me about Haley. How about we just call it even?" she asked.

"Okay," Lucas said.

"So is the case over?" Nathan asked the Deputy DA, Martinez.

Roberto shook his head. "No, we still have one more witness and his testimony coupled with Miss Scott will definitely land us a conviction."

"Who's the witness?" Lucas asked.

"Antwon Taylor," Martinez replied.

Nathan, Peyton, Jake, Brooke and Lucas all stared at him in disbelief.

"What are you gong to do, have a séance?" Brooke asked.

"Why would I do that?" Martinez asked.

"How else are you going to question a ghost?" Peyton asked.

"I'm questioning the victim," Martinez replied.

"The victim is dead," Lucas pointed out.

"No, Mr. Taylor survived the attack," Martinez replied.

"What?" Nathan, Brooke, Peyton, Lucas and Jake all exclaimed simultaneously.

"He was placed in witness protection along with Miss Scott," Martinez explained.

Nathan turned to Haley. "Did you hear that?"

"Yeah," Haley replied.

He smiled and put an arm around her, holding her close to him. "He isn't dead," Nathan said.

Haley sighed and looked up at him. "I know."

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	15. Chapter 15

_Thanks to **asharp4**, **ega1**, **luvnaley23**, **chelle2911**, **SLUVER15**, **Nicki-hunny**, **SnowWhite213**, **RedJewel2662**, **snowbabie**, **xSmile**, **i.heart.naley**, **coox**,** luceceline**, **Emily Carol**, **CCScott23**, **ransom note**, **naley23lover101**, **NaleyOTH23**, **mary-023**, **Kelly** and **Red** for replying. Leave some words and enjoy. Katy_**

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**Chapter Fifteen**

"The People call Antwon Taylor to the stand," Martinez said.

The courtroom erupted into chaos as the doors opened and Antwon "Skills" Taylor made his way down the aisle to the witness stand.

"Objection!" Vladimir exclaimed. "My client is on trail for this man's murder and here he is alive and well."

"A crime was still committed. Your Honour, the District Attorney's office would like to dismiss the charge of murder against the defendant and submit a charge of attempted murder instead," Martinez replied.

The judge looked at the two lawyers with rage in her eyes. She banged her gavel against the stone, demanding that order be restored to her courtroom.

"The charge of murder is dismissed and one count of attempted murder is submitted," she said, all the while glaring at the DA. "Your client would have served the same amount of time in prison if the charge were for attempted murder all along so no injustice has been committed against your client."

"I still object to the District Attorney's tactics," Vladimir said.

"Your objection is noted," the judge said and then she turned to the ADA, "If you pull one more stunt in my courtroom, I will hold you in contempt with a fine of twenty-five thousand dollars. Is that understood?"

Martinez gulped. "Yes, Your Honour."

"Then you may proceed," she replied.

"Do you swear to tell the whole truth and nothing but the truth so help you God?" the bailiff asked of Skills as he swore him in.

"Of course I do," Skills replied.

"Then you may be seated," the bailiff said.

"Mr. Taylor, you've been in witness protection for the past eight months, is that right?" Martinez asked.

"Yes," Skills replied.

"Can you please tell the court why that is?" Martinez asked.

"Some skinny-ass white dude shot me and left me for dead in my friend's apartment," Skills replied, glaring at Chris, Tony and Tania furiously.

"Do you know the name of that skinny-ass, um, I mean, the perpetrator?" Martinez asked.

The jury chuckled at his misstep.

"Chris Keller; that punk sitting right over there," Skills replied, pointing towards the defence table.

Chris turned his head away from the jury.

"But you survived," Martinez remarked.

"Barely," Skills scoffed. "The SOB pierced one of my lungs, nicked my pancreas and shattered my kneecap with his bullets. I was in the hospital for months, recuperating until they shipped me to the middle of nowhere for my protection."

"Which took you away from your career, family and friends," Martinez said.

"Yes, and if Haley Scott hadn't called 911, I wouldn't be sitting here, talking to y'all today," he replied.

He glanced over at Haley momentarily and with a smile added, "Girl saved my life."

"And was nearly killed afterwards," Martinez reminded.

"Objection," Vladimir said.

"Withdrawn," Martinez said while rolling his eyes at his counterpart.

--

After the defence lawyer cross-examined Skills and he was excused, Nathan got up and stormed out of the courtroom with Haley hot on his trail.

"Nathan, wait!" she called out to him.

Nathan whirled around to face her, his face a mask of anger. "You've known he was alive all this time and you've been lying to me ever since you walked through my door."

The others had caught up to the two by then.

"It stings, doesn't it?" Peyton asked. When Nathan looked at her in confusion, she smirked. "Betrayal."

He rolled his eyes and turned his attention back to Haley who acknowledged his statement. He shook his head at her and began to walk away.

"Please, I need you to understand," she pleaded to his back.

He was gone.

Skills turned to look at Haley questioningly. "You were staying with your ex-husband?"

Haley nodded. "Yes."

Skills shook his head. "That is some messed up shit."

Usually she would laugh at his crude remark but all of her attention was focused on Nathan's retreating form. He was leaving her all over again. However, she refused to just accept it this time.

She gave Skills a small nod of acknowledgement, silently telling him that she was glad he was back and still alive, and then took off after Nathan.

Haley finally caught up to him in the parking lot. "At least let me explain before you walk away," she said as she approached him as he was unlocking his car door.

He looked up at her. "Explain?" he echoed.

"Yes," Haley confirmed.

"Explain _what_?" Nathan demanded furiously. "Explain how you lied to me? How you led me on?"

"Say, are you thinking about going into acting at all?" he asked.

Haley wrinkled her eyebrows at him in confusion. "What?"

"You played the role of the helpless victim traumatized by witnessing a murder to perfection." Then he started applauding her performance. "You were very convincing."

"Nathan," Haley began.

"It would be great for an audition. Singers becoming acting is all the rage these days too," Nathan said.

"Would you just shut up for two minutes?" Haley exploded. He looked at her incredulously. "I can never get a word in when you're like this."

"I'm not interested in your rationalization," he told her.

"It's not a rationalization," she insisted.

"Whatever," he shrugged. "I'm still not interested." Then he got into his car.

Haley came to his window as he started the engine. "You can be a real jerk, you know?"

He jerked his head up at her. "You've got a lot of nerve."

Haley scoffed. "No, Nathan, _you're_ the one who has a lot of nerve."

"What is that supposed to mean?" he demanded.

"It's supposed to mean that walking out on me every time you're angry is not something I am going to accept anymore. I should at least get to tell you my side first," she said.

He looked at her. "Go ahead." He gestured to the passenger seat beside him.

Haley opened the passenger door and sat down, leaving the door open until she got settled. "In case you've forgotten, I was almost blown to bits. I didn't know Skills had survived the shooting until I woke up in the hospital days later," she said as she reached over, took hold of his face and forced him to look at her. "I couldn't tell you because the FBI told me not to."

"Don't give me that. Once the cat was out of the bag, there was nothing they could've done," Nathan said.

"This is the FBI we're talking about, Nathan," Haley told him. "They have guns- _huge_ guns- and ways of making people disappear forever. They can put you in prison for no reason, with no formal charges and no trial."

Nathan cocked his head at her at her ridiculous explanation. "Haley, come on."

"No, I'm serious." Haley shook her head at him for emphasis. "Now I love you but I am not going to sacrifice my freedom or risk Skills' life just to keep your feelings from being hurt."

He looked like the wind had been knocked out of him.

Concerned for him, Haley examined him, searching for something that might be wrong. "What is it?" she asked.

"It's been a while since I've heard you say that like that," Nathan said.

"Say what?" Haley asked.

"You said you loved me," he said.

She remained confused. "And?"

He looked at her, his eyes finally letting her in all the way so she could see how much what she said affected him. "You didn't have to think about it," he said.

Her eyes watered as she realized that he was right. "Yeah," Haley said and looked away from him for a second.

He took off his seatbelt and turned her head so he was looking at him. "I love you too," he said.

Haley smiled. "I know."

Then they kissed.

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	16. Chapter 16

_Thanks to RedJewel2662, mary-023, MrsLucasScott, CCScott23, Emily Carol, xSmile, mistydm, asharp4, ransom note, luvnaley23, SLUVER15, chelle2911, cali-beach-babe, snowbabie, LaFilmeMichelle, GottaluvNaley, TutorWife123, shenova, AngelLuva and jusanne23 for replying. I'm finally back with chapter sixteen. Enjoy. _Katy**

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**Chapter Sixteen**

"I'm nervous," Haley announced to Nathan as they walked out the front door of his house and walked down the steps to his driveway.

Nathan clicked the power lock button. The locks unlocked, the lights flashed and the car chirped as he opened her door for her. "I can tell," he said.

Haley sat down and then looked up at him curiously. "How?"

He smiled as he leaned on the car door for support and said, "You were jiggling your legs like crazy at breakfast this morning."

"Oh," she said, turning her face away from his view so he wouldn't see the rosy colour now flushing her cheeks in embarrassment.

He shut her door gently and walked over to his side. Once he was in the car with his seatbelt buckled, he reached his right hand over and covered her hands resting on her lap, causing her to look at him questioningly. "You've got nothing to worry about," he promised and tightened his grip on her hand for emphasis.

Her eyes filled with doubt and she looked at him incredulously. "Today is the last day of trial which means twelve ordinary people will decide whether or not Chris is guilty of two counts of attempted murder- mine and Skills'- and you think I have nothing to worry about?"

"He's as guilty as sin," Nathan pointed out.

"Yeah, but that doesn't mean the jury will find him guilty," Haley said.

"Yes, they will," Nathan said confidently.

"I don't think so. People can be charmed very easily and let's not forget that Chris is a celebrity," Haley replied.

"So are you and Skills," Nathan said, as he started the engine and pulled out.

"Yeah, but we've led the world to believe that we were dead for the past nine months so the jury might just write us off as liars," Haley replied.

"Haley, trust me, they will convict," Nathan said.

"How can you be so sure?" Haley asked.

"Because I was watching the jury's reactions during yours and Skills' testimonies," Nathan replied.

Her eyebrows came together in confusion. "So?"

"They hate his guts," Nathan said.

"And the jury will convict," Nathan said with a satisfactory smile.

"Let's hope so," Haley agreed.

Nathan checked traffic as he pulled over to the shoulder of the road and put the gearshift in park, turning off the engine afterwards.

Haley started looking around in a panic, wondering what made him do that in such a hurry. "What happened? Did you see something?" she asked, looking behind them.

Meanwhile, Nathan was unbuckling his seat belt. He leaned over, turned Haley to look at him and then kissed her long and hard. When it was over he smiled at her lovingly.

"No matter what happens in court today, you will be fine. You're safe with me," he said.

Haley looked at him curiously. "You promise?" she asked.

He smirked. "Yes," he said.

--

"If that jury doesn't find him guilty, I may punish him myself," Skills threatened as he paced back and forth outside the courtroom while they waited for the jury.

"Do not make threats like that in my presence," Martinez warned him.

Skills turned to look at him. "That bastard almost killed me," he exclaimed.

"That doesn't excuse you exacting your own brand of revenge," Haley reasoned with her hot-tempered friend.

"Are you telling me you don't want to hurt him yourself?" Skills asked.

Haley was about to answer when she realized that Skills wasn't talking to her. He was looking over her shoulder and she turned around to notice Nathan staring back at Skills, pondering an answer.

"He offered to shoot him once," Lucas volunteered.

Skills chuckled at the news. "Really?"

"So did you," Nathan pointed out.

Lucas rolled his eyes. "And then Peyton was assigned as my partner," he said.

"What does that have to do with anything?" Haley asked, clearly confused.

She knew that Lucas had been an Investigation at the Secret Service for a few years now and Peyton had just been promoted to that and assigned to work with Lucas.

"She threatened to shoot _me_ if I ever stepped out of line," Lucas said.

"Peyton always was a scary chick," Skills recalled.

All of a sudden the courtroom doors opened and the bailiff walked out. He began searching the group for the person he was sent to talk to and after a few seconds, his eyes rested on Martinez.

Martinez looked at the bailiff questioningly, who only nodded in response and then turned around, disappearing back into the courtroom.

"What?" Lucas asked.

"The jury's back," Martinez said nervously. He then turned to the two victims. "It's that time."

Haley felt overcome by a sudden wave of anxiety. She stared at the courtroom doors in wonder. Beyond those doors laid the answer to her future. In minutes, she would know whether or not she could feel secure that she would actually have one.

Then an arm came around her shoulders and pulled her close enough that she could inhale his cologne. "Come on," Nathan said.

"Yeah, Scott, it's time to face the hangman," Skills said and winked at her as he charged into the courtroom ahead of them.

Then Nathan and Haley walked into the courtroom together and took a seat at the bench Skills had occupied, and Haley was surprised that Lucas, Peyton and Brooke were there before them too.

"All rise," the bailiff said. "The honourable Judge Molly Christian is presiding."

Judge Christian came out of her chambers and seemed to glide across the floor until she was finally in her seat. "Court is now in session," she said, her voice regal and empty all at the same time. She slammed her gavel on its stone tiredly.

The jury foreperson rose.

Justin Bell was now a Christian assistant minister in his early thirties who had turned his Mercedes that came with his trust fund and an instant career at his father's insurance agency for a vow of poverty and celibacy because he had a devout belief in God and His teachings.

Justin gestured to the bailiff and handed him a folded up piece of paper to hand to the judge when he finally made it over to the jury box.

Molly Christian read the note and looked at the foreperson in legitimate surprise. "You are deadlocked?"

Bell looked down in shame for a second before returning his gaze which clearly showed his frustration with the situation. "We are, Your Honour," he replied.

Gasps filled the courtroom and Haley turned to Nathan in a panic. Deadlock meant a hung jury and an instant mistrial. "This cannot be happening," she told him.

"Are you sure that with further deliberations you wouldn't be able to reach a unanimous verdict?" the Judge asked.

Bell glanced at Haley and Skills, his sympathy evident in his tone as he answered. "I'm sure," he replied.

Judge Christian sighed in disappointment. She raised her gavel as she spoke. "Then I have no choice but to declare a mistrial due to a hung jury," she replied and slammed her gavel down on the stone furiously.

Court was adjourned and Chris had hugged his lawyer and made a ruckus as he finally exited the courtroom in a hurry.

"I'm so sorry," Martinez told Skills and Haley.

"Are you shitting me?" Skills boomed with fury-filled disbelief. "After everything he's done, he gets a hung jury!"

"I understand your frustration, Mr. Taylor, but if the jury couldn't reach a verdict, there's not much the legal system can do," Martinez said.

Skills turned to him and fixed him with a dangerous glare. "_You_ said that you would get a conviction. The FBI promised that I would be able to continue my real life if I testified. I can't very well come back with a target on my ass, now can I?"

"You probably will have to stay in hiding for a little longer," Agent Kendall replied.

"This was supposed to be over!" Skills exclaimed.

"I'm sorry, Skills, but with Keller free, we have to make sure that you're safe. You will both be relocated and when some time has passed with no threats, you will be able to return," Kendall said.

Haley stiffened. "What do you mean relocated?" she asked.

Agent Harris stepped forward. "We can't let you return to your previous locations, Miss Scott, now that the public knows you're alive. You will be moved to a safe house and then we'll find another location."

"You mean you're going to move me to another place in the middle of nowhere?" Skills asked, realizing that he wouldn't be returning to the town he had been in before and that meant that he would have to leave his new girlfriend.

"Yes," Kendall replied sadly.

"Why can't Haley stay with me again?" Nathan asked.

"In her testimony, she revealed that she had been placed under your care, Mr. Scott, and her attacker heard it. We cannot let her return with you now. She will be placed in another state like we had originally planned for her until we got the call from your brother," Harris explained.

"For how long?" Haley asked, feeling the strain already just knowing that she would be apart from Nathan.

"It's difficult to say," Kendall replied.

"Well, give us an estimation," Skills said.

"At least three months," Harris replied.

"Over my dead body," Nathan blurted out and moved in front of Haley, shielding her so they couldn't take her away from him.

"If we don't do this, it'll be over her dead body, Mr. Scott, possibly your own as well." Kendall said.

"Is that what you want?" Harris asked.

That brought Haley back to reality. She removed Nathan's arm from around her back, but kept hold of his hand as she came out from behind him. "They're right," she said.

Nathan looked at her in disbelief.

"I don't want to be apart from you either," Haley said.

"Then why are you letting them take you away?" Nathan asked.

"Because I don't want either of us to die," she said, stepping up on her toes and kissing him on the cheek. Then she walked over to Kendall and Harris.

"Hales," Nathan called.

Tears were streaming down her face when she turned to look at him. "At least this way we can be together again," she said.

She looked at Agent Harris. "I want communication privileges this time," she said.

After a sharp intake of breath, he looked at her in concern. "I'm not sure that's a smart idea."

Haley glared at him. "If you don't give me what I want, then I will not come with you and it will be over my dead body."

"Address the letters to Lucas through the Secret Service if that helps," Nathan said.

"And I'll hand his letters over to Peyton who can then send them to you as interagency confidential crap," Lucas said.

"Thanks, Luke," Haley said.

"I'll think about it but we've got to get out of here," Harris said.

Kendall took Haley with him out the front entrance while Skills followed Harris out the side entrance of the courthouse.

"I am just thankful that the jury couldn't agree to convict an innocent man," Chris Keller finished telling the press using the spiel that he was an innocent man that had been handed a miracle.

Haley stopped in her tracks at the sound of his voice. "That bastard," she declared.

"Come on, Miss Scott," Kendall said.

"How can they believe his lies?" Haley demanded.

"They're media, Haley. They're in the business of news, not truth," he replied.

"Miss Scott!" One lone reporter in the crowd exclaimed and that was all it took. Before she knew it, a few dozen reporters had swarmed her, snapping pictures and asking a zillion questions.

Kendall pulled her away and for a few seconds Haley went let him until she caught sight of Chris' smug expression.

"Wait," she said, pulling free of his grasp and returning to the reporters. "I just have one thing to say."

Some reporters pulled out tape recorders and camcorders, while others took out notepads ready to jot down the gist of her statement and a few stuck their microphones out so that they could catch what she was saying.

"While I was in hiding, one thing that kept me going was that I would see Chris Keller brought to justice," Haley began. She took a deep breath and fought to regain her composure and keep the swirling emotions within her under control. "There are no words to convey the fury I feel right now and why the jury couldn't agree to put that monster away is something that I will never understand."

Satisfied that she had said her peace, she turned to leave.

And that's when it happened.

A force hit her like a bat connecting with a ball in midair, bringing her crashing to the ground.

Chris Keller had her pinned to the ground, with his hands wrapped around her throat, squeezing the life out of her.

When he came out of the courthouse, he noticed a big commotion. A few steps away from him someone was on the ground and someone was on top of that person. Then he caught sight of her blonde hair flecked with auburn.

"Haley!" Nathan exclaimed, rushing towards her fallen form, ready to pommel Chris to the ground.

But a loud, piercing sound rang out.

The pressure around her throat relaxed as she found herself able to breath more easily again. But it wasn't long before Chris collapsed onto her, confining her to the cold stone that lay beneath her.

She heard people coming towards her so she tried to push him off her with no luck. As she balled her fists in frustration, she felt something weird on her hand.

Nathan and Kendall both pulled Chris off of Haley and helped her up.

While she was staring at the reddish substance on her hand in disbelief, Kendall was feeling for a pulse.

"He's dead," he announced.

Haley looked around and her gaze rested on a figure right outside the courthouse doors.

Lucas still had his Glock in his hands; smoke was spewing out of the trigger as it had just been fired.

His partner was beside him, shaking her head at him as she held her own gun still in its holster. "Well, since Haley was in danger, I guess I'll let it slide," Peyton said and grinned at him.


	17. Chapter 17

**Chapter Seventeen**

"Thanks for your statement, Miss Scott," some random Secret Service agent told Haley as they escorted her out of the interrogation room and took her hand written statement, handing it to a desk agent while they disappeared down the hall.

Haley found Peyton's desk again and sat down, letting out a sigh of relief.

Her friend glanced up at her with a knowing expression on her face. "Intense, huh?"

Haley looked at her incredulously in response. "Are you kidding? I felt like I was the one that shot Chris," she replied.

Peyton nodded. "Try being interrogated by them while there's a manhunt going on," she replied.

"What do you mean?" Haley asked.

"A year ago, there was a tip that there was a mole within the Service who was leaking classified information about a case Investigation was working on in coordination with the FBI and because of the breach, five agents lost their lives," Peyton explained.

"After that, the place was literally turned inside out. We all had to take mandatory polygraphs every day for a week and a half," she added.

"So why treat a witness like a suspect?" Haley asked.

Peyton chuckled. "Hales, they were treating you like a witness," she said.

"If that is how they treat people who cooperate, I'd hate to see how they treat someone they consider a suspect," Haley said.

"Everybody lies, even witnesses," Peyton explained.

"Still, there should be some sense of diplomacy," Haley argued.

"Not in an interrogation room," Peyton shook her head dismissively.

She looked to the room where she had seen them take Nathan in.

"He'll be finished soon," Peyton replied, reading her friend's concerned expression as if it were a textbook example of a woman in love worried.

"Where's Luke?" Haley asked, slightly reassured.

"He's in a holding cell."

"What?" Haley asked in a panicked voice.

"He has a hearing with the review board tomorrow," Peyton replied.

"Why is he being treated like a criminal?" Haley asked.

Peyton looked at her incredulously. "He open-fired on a man in public, in broad daylight outside a courthouse, no less."

"It was self-defence," Haley argued.

"I think the term your searching for is 'in defence of another' and it doesn't matter. He shot a man. You can't expect him to be cleared overnight," Peyton replied.

"Why not?" Haley asked.

"Because there are things called procedures. I promise he will return to duty once the review board clears him and they will," Peyton said.

"How do you know?" Haley asked.

"I know because the hearing itself is a formality. We can't just let Luke go without someone clearing him, no matter how many witnesses we have who saw him shoot Chris to save you," Peyton said.

"Well, you'll have to excuse my lack of faith in the justice system after that debacle in court yesterday," Haley snapped.

"This has nothing to do with the justice system. This is the Secret Service, dealing with one of their agents in-house," Peyton replied.

"So you're saying he's going to be punished for saving my life?" Haley asked.

"He endangered lives when he shot Chris like that, Haley. He didn't have a clear shot; he could've easily missed and killed some innocent bystander, maybe even killed you. Besides, the most he'll get is a week suspension and a note in his file," Peyton explained.

"And this note would say what exactly? 'Beware of Agent Scott because he saved a woman's life'?" Haley mocked.

"I should've known you wouldn't understand," Peyton said, shaking her head at her friend in frustration.

"And why's that?" Haley asked.

"You're not an agent."

"Where's Brooke?" Haley asked, changing the subject to avoid further arguing.

"She's probably at home, working on her designs," Peyton replied.

"Lucas is in jail. Why isn't she here?" Haley asked in horror. It didn't make sense that Brooke would be sitting at home instead of supporting her husband.

"It might have something to do with the fact that she doesn't know," Peyton replied disinterestedly.

"Nobody called her?" Haley asked.

"Luke told me not to. He doesn't want her to worry," Peyton replied.

Haley picked up the phone at Peyton's desk and started dialling Brooke and Luke's home number, with Peyton staring at her at the whole time.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm calling Brooke," Haley replied.

Peyton reached over and disconnected the line from the base of the phone.

"What did you do that for?" Haley asked, as she began redialling the number only to have Peyton disconnect her again.

"Luke does not want Brooke to know that he is in jail so you cannot call her and tell her that he is," Peyton replied, an agent's loyalty to their partner shining through in her words.

"Lucas already lied to Brooke when he didn't tell her that I was alive. If he doesn't tell her that he's in jail after she saw him shoot Chris Keller to protect me, she will never forgive him," Haley said.

"And if he wants to ruin his marriage, that's too bad but you're still not calling her," Peyton said.

Haley glared at her in annoyance as Peyton grabbed the receiver out of her hand and hung up the phone, now dragging the base away out of her reach.

"Oh, yes, I am," she said defiantly as she grabbed Nathan's cell phone out of her purse after remembering that he had given it to her to hold so the agents wouldn't take it from him.

"Haley, come on," Peyton said.

"No, I refuse to let Lucas' stupid need to protect everyone ruin his marriage and hurt Brooke in the process," Haley replied.

"Brooke is my friend too. Do you think I want to see her hurt?" Peyton asked.

Haley eyed her. "Do you want me to answer that or should I just start dialling?"

"Why would I want to hurt Brooke?" Peyton asked.

"Oh, I don't know, maybe because she and Lucas both hurt you," Haley replied.

Peyton rolled her eyes. "Oh, please, that was a long time ago. It's ancient history," she said dismissively.

"This is you we're talking about, Peyton. You can hold a grudge forever," Haley said.

"I've obviously let go if I'm now Lucas' partner," Peyton argued.

"You're forgetting that I was the one you came to after he broke your heart when he chose Brooke over you again, Peyton. I know how hurt you really were," Haley replied.

"I'm not denying that I wasn't hurt, Hales, I'm just saying that I'm over it. I moved on. I got married to Jake. _My_ Jake- the man I longed for, for so long after he left," Peyton replied.

"I know you're in love with Jake and that you're not in love with Luke anymore but that doesn't mean you're not still hurt," Haley said.

"If anyone should understand putting the past behind them, that is you," Peyton said.

"What do you mean?" Haley asked, slightly insulted.

"Uh, you and Nathan. What do you think I mean?" Peyton retorted.

"What about me and Nathan?" Haley asked.

"The fact that there is such a thing after what he did to you," Peyton replied.

"Things are not completely resolved between us and I think you know that," Haley said.

"But you have forgiven him, right?" Peyton asked.

Haley nodded. "I love him."

"I know that and I'm not judging you because I think it's great that the two of you are back together. All I'm saying is that I never thought it would happen after how badly he hurt you and yet you've forgiven him just like I've forgiven Lucas and Brooke. Things are fine," Peyton replied.

"So if things are truly fine, you won't mind if I call Brooke," Haley said, dialling the number and dodging the arm that came shooting towards the phone.

Peyton shook her head at Haley as she filled Brooke in on the dilemma and then spent the next ten minutes calming her down, reassuring her that Lucas was all right.

"She's on her way," Haley said, as she flipped the phone shut and put it back in her purse.

"Batten down the hatches, here comes Hurricane Brooke," Peyton remarked, with a slight smile on her face.

Her fellow agents chuckled along with her because they'd dealt with Brooke's melodrama before.

"Finally," Nathan said as he came towards the two women and took a seat beside Haley. "That felt like forever."

"You were only in there for forty minutes," Peyton pointed out.

"And they were the longest minutes of my life," he retorted.

"How did it go?" Haley asked.

He shrugged. "They asked me a bunch of questions, some more than once, then they handed me a piece of paper and a pen and told me to write down everything that happened," Nathan replied.

"That's exactly what they did with me," Haley commented.

Peyton looked up at her friends. "What did you think they were going to do- threaten to shoot you?"

"Don't be ridiculous. Of course I didn't think that," Haley replied.

"I did," Nathan said.

Peyton and Haley both looked at him as if he were crazy.

"I thought they would at least threaten bodily harm if I didn't tell them everything I know," Nathan added.

Peyton shook her head in disappointment. "You've seen way too many movies."

"You're telling me they don't threaten people in interrogations ever?" Nathan asked, raising a dubious eyebrow.

"Yeah they do when they're interviewing suspects, but you two are witnesses," Peyton replied.

"I thought they were treating me like a suspect," Nathan admitted.

Haley chuckled. "So did I."

Peyton sighed and put her head in her arms on the desk and then pretended to bang her head against her desk in frustration. "Celebrities," she remarked.

Nathan rolled his eyes at the insult.

Haley swung her left leg back and then kicked Peyton in the shin hard.

"Damn it, Haley!" Peyton exclaimed, grabbing her leg in pain.

"Not bad for a measly celebrity, wouldn't you say?" Haley asked, winking at Nathan.

Peyton glared at her. "I can have you detained for assaulting an agent, you know," she said.

Haley rolled her eyes. "Go ahead and try but just remember that messing with me, means you'll have to deal with the FBI because I'm under their protection."

"That's a good point. I have more contact with the Feds than I need as it is," Peyton replied, pointing to the plaque on her desk at their confused glances. Below her name it read Secret Service Investigation Liaison to the FBI.

Most people would prefer just investigator title under their name but to Peyton Junior Investigator didn't have as great a ring to it.

"Isn't liaison just a fancy term for mediator?" Nathan asked.

Peyton made a face at him. "Mediation is one of many duties that come with being a liaison, yes."

Nathan started laughing.

"What?" Haley asked.

"And they trusted _you_ to keep the peace?" Nathan asked.

Peyton narrowed her eyes. "Very funny, Nathan. I have learned to control my temper unlike some people."

Nathan was about to respond with another jab but the loud slamming of a door caught his attention instead. Every motion ceased as every one looked up to see the cause of the disturbance.

"Where is he?" Brooke Davis-Scott asked, her face a display of worry and fear.

Peyton looked at Haley in annoyance. "See? This is what I have to deal with instead of actually doing my job because you couldn't mind your own business."

"She is his wife and so she deserved to know that he was in jail," Haley replied firmly, daring anyone to argue with her.

"Except that he is not in jail. He is in a holding cell," Peyton shot back.

"In other words, he's in a jail cell," Haley pointed out.

"Brooke, over here," Peyton said, waving to her partner's wife and friend.

Brooke turned her head and seemed to wash over her face, if only for a second. "Peyton, where is he? What's going on?" She sat down at Luke's desk, which was placed directly in front of Peyton's so the two partners' workstations were directly across from one another.

"Brooke, calm down," Haley told the dramatic brunette.

"My husband is in jail, Haley! There is no way I am calming down until someone tells me what the hell is going on," Brooke exclaimed.

"He's not in jail, Brooke," Peyton said.

Brooke opened her mouth to argue that her husband was in a prison cell.

"Yes, he's in a cell but he's not under arrest," Peyton said before she started to speak. "We're holding him until his meeting with the review board tomorrow morning and it's just a precaution because some agents have been known to flee."

"But Lucas shot Chris to save Haley," Brooke said.

"And that is why he will be cleared but there has to be at least the appearance of some form of punishment," Peyton explained.

"So what are you two doing here?" Brooke asked.

"They were giving statements about what they saw and about the trial," Peyton replied for them.

"We're actually leaving now," Nathan said, looking to Haley for confirmation.

She nodded insistently. "I'm exhausted."

"You're going home together?" Brooke asked, looking at the two of them curiously.

"Yeah," Haley replied, giving Nathan a small smile.

"Does that mean that you're back together?" Brooke asked, ever the gossip.

Before either of them could answer, an agent called to Peyton.

"Jagielski, turn on the television. Some reporter is talking about your friend," he said.

Peyton took the remote off the shelf next to her and Lucas' desks and turned the channel onto ABC News.

There was an attractive black-haired woman in her early thirties sitting at a huge table with an older guy who was presumably her partner.

There was a streaming caption that read: "Back From the Dead: Haley Scott and Antwon Taylor"

"It is true. Singer, producer and writer, Antwon Taylor was supposedly shot and killed at singer-songwriter, Haley Scott's apartment. Scott was previously thought to have died in an explosion outside her apartment days after Taylor's murder."

The guy next to her interrupted, "They don't make dead people like they used to."

They laughed heartily together.

"Scott and Taylor both survived the attacks and were in witness protection until the trial. They were the prosecution's star witnesses in the Keller Murder Trial," the woman said.

"After the jury came back with verdict of innocent on every count, Scott gave this statement outside the courtroom yesterday before being whisked away by her FBI protection," the guy said.

The screen shifted to a clip of Haley's passionate statement she had given without thinking to the press.

"_While I was in hiding, one thing that kept me going was that I would see Chris Keller brought to justice," Haley began. She took a deep breath and fought to regain her composure and keep the swirling emotions within her under control. "There are no words to convey the fury I feel right now and why the jury couldn't agree to put that monster away is something that I will never understand."_

You could see Chris start to leap after her, pin her to the ground and then start choking her. Then the gunshot blasted and Chris collapsed on top of Haley.

The screen returned to the two newscasters who were both wearing surprised expressions on their faces.

"Sources have confirmed that Chris Keller is dead," the woman announced.

"What a day for Haley Scott, huh?" the man questioned.

Haley snatched the remote away from Peyton and turned the television off, ignoring the protests of several agents, Brooke and Peyton.

"I don't need to hear what two complete strangers think about _my_ life, okay?" She explained.

Then Nathan's cell phone started ringing in her purse.

She dug until she finally found the phone and then handed it to Nathan. "If it's a reporter, my answer is no comment," she said.

He smirked. "Understood."

He flipped the phone open. "Hello," he said and his face drained of colour when the person on the other end spoke. "Mrs. James."

Haley shook her head. "I'm not here," she whispered, waving her hands in protest. The last thing she wanted was to deal with her mother.

"Yes, she was staying with me," he answered awkwardly.

"No."

"Haley, talk to her," Brooke urged.

Haley glared at her in response.

Brooke was about to push when Peyton shook her head at her in warning. "Sore subject."

"Well, because we're not at my house right now," Nathan said. He sighed. "We're giving statements about what happened today and Haley's still in there with them."

"She's fine," he assured her mother.

"I will, yes, I promise," he said and then hung up.

"Well?" Brooke asked.

He turned to Haley. "I'm not doing that to her again," he said.

"What did you promise?" Brooke asked.

"She asked me if I would bring Haley up to see her when we're done," Nathan said. Brooke's eyebrows shot up in surprise.

"And we are leaving for Charlotte first thing in the morning," he added resolutely.

Haley nodded in agreement but the displeasure she was feeling was all over her face. "This is going to be the reunion from hell," she said.


	18. Chapter 18

**Chapter Eighteen**

"Do we have to do this?" Haley asked when Nathan pulled the car onto her parents' street.

Nathan looked at her incredulously. "Yes," he replied as he turned onto their driveway and parked at the bottom. "They thought you were dead, Hales."

"I know," Haley said, looking down for a second to gather her thoughts, "but that doesn't change the way they treated me after things went south with you."

"No one is saying you have to work things out with them, but at least let them see you," Nathan said, pulling her hand from her lap and kissing her fingertips. "So they know you're really alive."

"It's not going to be pretty," she said.

"I have met your family before," he replied.

"Yeah, but they adore you so you've never seen them pissed off," Haley pointed out.

"Your dad wasn't exactly thrilled when we asked if we could get married," he retorted.

That much was certainly true. Her father had been against their marriage in the beginning, claiming that if they were really in love and meant to be married, it would still be so after college.

But her mother, ever the thespian, had spun a tale so ridiculously hilarious mixed with a little truth, that her own parents had not wanted her to marry Jimmy, and managed to convince him to let Haley marry Nathan.

"You've never seen my dad mad, Nathan. The day I told him I had left you, he was mad. When I finally broke down and told them the whole story, he was fuming, wondering why I walked away without a fight," Haley explained.

Nathan looked at her, pure adoration in his eyes as he snaked an arm around her waist, pulling her to him as they walked up the long driveway together.

"You were the one person who always let me make up my own mind. I didn't understand why you accepted my decision so easily then, but I do now. You didn't want to use our marriage to force me to stay with you especially when you thought that the one I wanted was Rachel," he said.

"I fought for you once because I loved you and I knew you loved me too, but you were hurt," Haley said, referring to her return from the tour. "And if I had known the real reason you chose Rachel, I can't honestly say that I would have fought as hard as I did then, but I wouldn't have so easily walked away that day."

"I'm just glad we've been given a second chance," he said, kissing her softly on the head.

Haley smiled at him warmly. "So am I," she said as she rang the doorbell to her parents' new house.

The door opened and Taylor James opened the door, her eyes practically jumping out of their sockets when she caught sight of her baby sister and the man with his arm wrapped around her waist, Nathan Scott.

"What the hell is going on?" she exclaimed, but her gaze was focused on something inside the house now, not on them.

Taylor left the door open, presumably so they could come in and shut it behind them, as she bounded up the stairs like a tiger on the prowl for it's next meal.

"Wow, it's amazing that even coming back from the dead doesn't seem to make a blip on Tay's radar," Haley said.

Then she heard the raised voices coming from upstairs.

"I guess we better go see what that's about," Nathan said, taking Haley by the hand and walking up the stairs. They found themselves walking into the living room where Lydia, Jimmy and Taylor James were in the middle of a discussion.

"You didn't tell me that she would be here!" Taylor exclaimed.

"We figured you would want to be here when Haley came to explain herself," Lydia said simply, offering no apologies for the surprise.

"Explain myself?" Haley repeated, and that's when all eyes turned to her.

"The police told us you were dead, Haley, and the next thing we know, you're being attacked on live television?" Lydia replied.

"I was in witness protection," Haley replied.

"And?" Jimmy asked.

"I think the fact that I was in hiding after an attempt was made on my life is pretty self-explanatory," Haley replied. "What else is there to explain?"

"Why we didn't know you were really alive, for starters," her mother said, her tone expressed just how hurt she really was by the situation.

Haley's demeanour softened. "I didn't tell you because I didn't want to worry you," she said lamely.

Taylor scoffed. "And making us think you were dead, mourn you was so much better for us," she said.

"If you knew I was alive and in witness protection, it would've been far worse," Haley replied.

"No, Haley," Jimmy said, waving off her explanation dismissively with a flick of his wrist. "We would've known you were still alive."

"Listen to her," Nathan said.

"Why should we?" Taylor asked.

"Because she did what she did for a reason. Even if it was wrong, it came from a good place," Nathan said.

"The way the FBI explained it to me, if you had known I was alive, and wanted to talk to me, the only way that was possible was a phone call every month or so," Haley started to explain.

"I would have given anything to hear your voice," Lydia said angrily.

"Let her finish, Mrs. James," Nathan said.

"I wouldn't be able to tell you anything and I mean absolutely nothing about what was going on. I couldn't talk about the weather or the people, because they were afraid it might tip you off as to where I was and if people were watching you for a sign that I was actually alive, you would in some way, give them the clues they needed even if you were really careful."

"But you would've been able to talk to us, right?" Jimmy asked.

"Only for about ten minutes," Haley replied.

"And she was still in danger so you would be worrying all the time. Think about how you would feel if for some reason she didn't call you one month. You'd be going crazy, probably imagining that she was dead or being held captive somewhere," Nathan said.

"I let you think I was dead to give you peace of mind," Haley finished for him.

Her mother looked at her for a minute, trying to understand what her daughter was trying to tell her. Something passed through her eyes and she sighed. "So, you're saying you let us think you were dead because you thought it would spare us the pain of worrying about you all the time?" Lydia asked.

"Yes, and I really thought that I was doing the right thing," Haley replied.

Lydia shook her head. "Haley-bob, one thing you need to realize is that a parent never stops worrying about their children, and I would've preferred that to thinking that my baby girl was gone forever."

"I'm sorry," Haley said, tears forming in her eyes, "I guess I thought that you wouldn't take it so hard because we hadn't spoken in years and I knew you were angry with me."

"You think that because we were mad at you, we wouldn't care that you died?" Taylor asked, coming over to Haley and putting her hand on her shoulder. "That's ridiculous."

"Well, what was I supposed to think?" Haley exploded, stepping away from her sister and glaring at her family with six years' worth of suppressed anger. "You certainly didn't treat me very well and when I tried to make amends four years ago, you threw it back in my face."

"Haley, you just walked away from your marriage," Jimmy James exclaimed.

"It was my decision to make and I stand by it," Haley retorted.

Before any of them could respond, Nathan stepped forward and said, "What happened between us was my fault, not Haley's. I cheated on her and I even went as far as to ask my father for divorce papers, which I intended to serve to Haley because the girl I was with had gotten pregnant."

"But Haley left you, didn't she?" Jimmy asked.

"I was preparing to leave her, but she found the divorce papers and beat me to the punch," Nathan replied. He put his arm around her again. "And I don't blame her for walking away. She had every right to."

Taylor finally noticed Nathan's arm around her and stared at the couple in amazement. "Are you two back together?" she asked, pointing to his possessive action.

Nathan looked to Haley questioningly.

"Yes, we are," she replied, reaching down for his hand and then clasping it with her own.

Lydia stared at them. "When did this happen?"

"While Haley came to live in my house," Nathan replied.

Taylor smirked. "Looks like being in mortal danger agreed with you," she said, winking at them.

"There was one good thing about it," Haley said, winking back.

"Do I hear wedding bells in the future?" Taylor asked.

Haley glared at her sister, not even realizing that Nathan was doing the same thing, before she responded. "We just got back together, Taylor," she snapped.

"Right now, we're just hoping the FBI doesn't take her away again," Nathan said.

"Take you away?" Jimmy asked, looking at his daughter worriedly.

"Now that Chris is dead, they gave me the okay to get back to my life, but I do have to check in with them every week for a few months, just to be safe," Haley replied.

--

"So, do you want to grab something to eat?" Nathan asked as they turned off her parents' street.

"I'd actually like to head to my apartment," Haley said.

Nathan stared at her in distress. "What?"

Haley smiled at him in reassurance. "I would like to grab my things and give my landlord my notice," she said.

"You're going to move?" Nathan asked.

"I'm already living somewhere else, Nathan. I'm just making it official by actually having my stuff there," Haley replied.

"Are you sure you want to stay with me?" Nathan asked.

"I've lived with you before, Nathan," Haley replied.

"Yeah, but that was while you were in hiding," Nathan said.

"I wasn't just talking about that time," Haley said, reaching over and resting her hand on top of his which was on the gear shift.


	19. Chapter 19

**Chapter Nineteen**

Haley fished through her purse for the keys to her New York City apartment.

"What's taking so long?" Nathan asked as he finally met her on the fourth floor with a set of luggage in his hands as he came to a stop beside her.

"I'm still looking for the keys," she replied her head still bent down as she continued to push things aside in her purse.

"You've been here for at least seven minutes," Nathan said.

"And I haven't used these keys in eleven months," Haley shot back.

"Are you sure you even brought them?" Nathan asked.

Haley rolled her eyes. "Of course I brought them. Agent Harris had copies made because my real set was collected as 'evidence' after the explosion."

"I meant did you bring them with you today?" Nathan said.

Haley stopped to think for a minute. "I'm pretty sure I did," she said and then went back to her search.

"You're pretty sure?" he asked.

"Yeah," she said.

"How sure is that?"

"About eighty percent," she replied.

"Haley, we could just ask the desk clerk for his set," Nathan said.

Haley knelt down with her purse. She turned the thing upside down and all the contents spilled out onto the marble floor. Then she scanned all the items and her eyes lit up. "Aha, here they are," she said as she triumphantly snatched up two single silver keys on microphone key chain.

"I only see one lock so why is there two keys?" Nathan asked.

Haley examined one of the two keys. "Oh, this one's for my car," she said.

"You mean the one that blew up?" Nathan asked.

"Yep," she replied.

"Why did they copy that key?" he asked.

Haley began putting her things back into her purse. "I don't know. I guess they didn't realize what it was for," she said.

She stood up and opened the door to her apartment.

"Voila," she said as she flicked on the light.

The door opened and there was a long hallway that went left and right. Directly in front of them was the kitchen that spread a good ten feet and then a small alcove with a table and chairs with a floor to ceiling window showing off part of New York City.

To the left of the kitchen was a fancy dining room. It had a long, oak table with six matching chairs. Pictures of Haley's family lined the walls of the room and a small chandelier was the only light fixture in the room.

"Wow," Nathan said as he glanced at the table. "It's nice."

"I only used this room when I had dinner with colleagues, which wasn't very often," Haley replied, as she began taking the pictures off the wall and carefully placing them into the boxes that you had to build yourself.

"Where did you eat?" Nathan asked.

"Well, when I _was_ actually here, I ate at the little alcove," Haley replied.

When she gathered all the pictures off the wall, she announced that she was done with this room.

"But all you took were the pictures," he said.

"That's all that I own," Haley replied.

"You don't own the furniture?" Nathan asked.

"Nah, it was already here," Haley replied, explaining that the apartment came mostly furnished.

They gathered all of the dishes that were actually Haley's out of the kitchen and her refrigerator magnets, a few he recognized because they had been on the fridge of their old apartment.

"I can't believe you kept that," Nathan said as he spied the small picture magnet of them on their fifth date.

"I looked good in the picture," Haley explained, smirking a little. "Plus that was a great night."

They went down the right hall to a rather large living room. There was an EZ chair, a couch and a rocking chair all faced towards the entertainment stand that held a television, digital cable box and a DVD/VCR combo.

There was also another large window with a desk placed a few feet in front of it with a comfortable chair wedged in between the window and the desk.

"I own the desk, the desk chair the TV and the DVD/VCR," Haley replied, pointing each individual thing out. "Oh and the pictures on the wall."

There were seven pictures on the wall. The first one was of her with her family. The second was a group photo of her, Lucas, Peyton, Jake, Brooke, Mouth, Skills and himself. The second was of just her and Lucas from high school before he had met her. The third was photo of her, Peyton and Brooke from senior year in their cheerleading uniforms. The fourth was of her and Skills in the recording studio together. The fifth was of her, Peyton and Jake all sitting together on the couch in the room and it was probably the most recent. The sixth picture was a group picture of all of the eight friends at graduation. The last picture was of Haley and Skills together on stage.

"Now onto the real nightmare, my bedroom," Haley giggled as she led the way down the hall to the last door, skipping the bathroom completely.

Her bedroom was decent size. It was big, but not the size of a master bedroom. There were two bedside tables one on either side of the bed. One held a small lamp and an alarm clock. The second one had a CD player on it with a framed picture of them on their wedding on the beach with a smaller picture of them from their vow renewal ceremony in the bottom right corner.

Her closet was packed with a bunch of clothes that she didn't even bother sorting. She took out huge clumps at a time and threw the pile into a suitcase and fought to get the thing closed, cursing like a sailor the whole time.

When they were finished with her bedroom, they discovered that her record label had taken the liberty of packing up her recording equipment, which included all the demos she had in her apartment and brought them back to their New York offices and that had really pissed Haley off.

"Who do they think they are coming in here and stealing from me?" she ranted on the way down to the car.

"I guess they figured since you were signed to their label, they had rights to any material you recorded," Nathan replied though he didn't really know the reason behind their actions.

"That gives them rights to anything I record in their studios and any material I release on my album under Maverick Records, not to stuff found in my apartment recorded using my own equipment," Haley exclaimed.

"Well, what are you going to do about it?" Nathan asked.

"I'm going to head over there and light a fire under my boss's butt," Haley replied, taking the keys from him and getting in the driver seat.

He ran over to the passenger side of the car and got in. He left the door open a little. "Uh, Haley, that's my car and only I drive my car," Nathan said.

"Do you know the way to Maverick Records New York?" she asked, looking at him questioningly through the window.

"No," Nathan replied.

"Well, I do so it's settled," Haley said, starting the engine of the car and peeling out of the apartment building's parking lot.

"Remind me never to steal your music," Nathan joked as she furiously drove to the studio.

"Who the hell do you think you are?" Haley demanded of her boss, Eli Landau.

"Haley Scott, what are you doing here?" Eli asked as he finally recognized the young woman that barged into his office in the middle of a meeting.

"I want my demos," she said.

"What demos would those be?" he asked dumbly.

"The demos that you crooks stole from my apartment along with my recording equipment," Haley replied.

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Eli replied.

"You know what, don't play dumb with me. The desk attendant at my building told me that the people who came to the building for my demos said they were from Maverick Records," Haley said.

"We did not take your demos or your recording equipment," Eli said, shaking his head for emphasis.

"Don't lie to me," Haley exclaimed. "Those are my songs and I want them back right now."

Eli finally stood up and looked at her. "I understand how frustrated you are. I would be too if somebody came and stole my work from my own apartment while I was supposedly dead but I swear to you, it was not Maverick."

Haley looked at him doubtfully. "Then who do you suppose it was?" she asked.

"Perhaps someone you worked with or someone looking to make some quick cash with the deceased Haley Scott's last work," Eli replied, looking at her suggestively.

Haley visibly paled. "The desk clerk?"

Eli shrugged. "It could be him, I don't know, but I do know that it wasn't me. I would've eventually heard your work when you returned so I have no reason to steal your work."

Haley cringed. "Actually, I need to talk to you about that later."

"What?" Eli asked looking worried.

"I'm not going to be working in New York anymore," she replied.

Eli's mouth twitched. "Excuse me?"

"I'm moving back to North Carolina," Haley replied.

"So you're going to another label?" Eli asked.

"I hadn't planned to," she said.

"Then what are you going to be doing?" Eli asked.

"I'm not sure what I'm going to do at this point so for now, I'm taking a sabbatical," she said.

"A sabbatical?" Eli repeated in disbelief.

"Yeah, I'll call you later to work out the details," Haley replied and walked away so he couldn't argue with her.

"Well?" Nathan asked when she got back in the car.

"They didn't take my stuff," Haley replied and filled him in.

"Are you sure he's telling you the truth?" Nathan asked.

"No, but I trust Eli a lot more than I trust Martin," Haley replied.

"And Martin would be?" Nathan asked.

"The desk clerk at my apartment building," she replied.

Nathan took the keys back from her and told her to get out of his seat. "I know the way to your apartment so it's my turn to drive," he said.

"Where are the tapes, man?" Nathan demanded of Martin Demarco as he and Haley walked into the apartment building the second time that day.

He walked behind the desk and shoved Martin against the wall with the strength of a star athlete.

"Nathan, you said you'd give him a chance to come clean before you decided to make him a punching bag," Haley said in a weak, feminine voice that he didn't even know she had.

"I asked him where they were, he didn't answer. That was his first and only chance," Nathan replied in a tough, unreasonable tone, shoving the guy harder against the wall.

"What tapes are you talking about, man?" Martin asked.

Both ignored him.

"You gave him like three seconds to react," Haley pointed out rationally.

"And he didn't answer," Nathan repeated matter of fact.

"What tapes?" Martin asked.

"The tapes and the equipment you said Haley's record label stole after her death hit the papers," Nathan yelled. "Funny thing. When we went to their offices, Eli, the manager, said he didn't have them and that they had no reason to take them since they would've eventually heard the stuff anyway."

"And they sure as hell don't need my recording equipment. They own four recording studios in Manhattan alone," Haley replied in a harsher tone, finally revealing her anger.

"Where is the stuff?" Nathan asked.

"Wait, you think I took it?" Martin asked in disbelief.

"Well, didn't you?" Haley retorted.

He looked at her in disbelief and it was damn convincing but then for half a second, guilt flashed through his eyes and Haley deduced that he was playing her once again.

"Of course not," he lied convincingly.

"Don't lie to me, Martin," Haley warned, "I haven't called the cops on you because all I want is my stuff back but I will if you force me to."

"And that's after I use you for target practice for a few hours while she goes to report her stuff stolen," Nathan added, balling his right hand into a fist.

"All right, nobody needs to get hurt," Martin conceded, holding his hands up in surrender.

Nathan loosened his hold on him with an expectant look on his face. "Well, where are they?"

"The tapes are in my safety deposit box in the bank down the street," Martin replied.

"And my recording equipment?" Haley asked, tapping her foot on the concrete floor impatiently.

"I sold it," Martin replied.

"What!" Haley exclaimed furiously.

"I sold it to a lead guitarist of some band," he continued.

"What's the guy's name?" Nathan asked.

"Er, I don't know. He answered my ad and paid in cash," Martin replied.

"In other words, I'm screwed," Haley said.

"You can buy new equipment," Martin suggested.

"With what, magic beans from a guy named Jack?" Haley asked.

"You're a celebrity so you must have money," Martin said confidently.

Haley scoffed. "Yeah, that's why I lived here," she said, looking at the building pointedly.

"There's got to be another way to get you some equipment, Hales," Nathan said.

Haley looked at him doubtfully but then her eyes lit up and she turned her attention to Martin. "Yeah, you owe me eight hundred dollars," she said, holding out her hand for the money.

"I don't have that kind of cash," Martin said.

"I'll take a cheque," Haley said.

"Good for you but I don't have that kind of money on me right now," Martin said.

"You will if you want to keep your freedom instead of being confined to an eight by ten cell," Haley replied.

"You can't call the cops on me. I have a family to support," Martin cried.

"You should've thought that before you decided to steal from me," Haley said.

"You were supposed to be dead!" he exclaimed.

"That doesn't give you the right to help yourself to her things," Nathan said.

Haley walked closer to the clerk and pulled out her cell phone and began to dial the number for the cops. "Are you sure you can't pay me back?" Haley asked.

"Maybe I could scrounge up something," Martin said, considering her ultimatum.

"Be sure," Haley said, dialling again.

"All right! I'll pawn this ring I got from my uncle after he died; it's worth at least nine hundred," Martin said.

"And my tapes?" Haley asked.

"I'll mail them to you," Martin said.

"Oh, no, I don't trust you," Haley dismissed.

"When's your next break?" Nathan asked.

"I get off in an hour," he said.

"Then that's when we'll get her demos and the money you owe her," Nathan said.

Haley and Nathan walked into their house in Tree Hill the next morning exhausted from the previous day's activities.

"Finally, I have these back," Haley said.

"I can't believe that guy stole them from you," Nathan said.

"Well, next time I fake my death, I'll be sure to put my valuables in a safety deposit box or a vault," Haley replied.

"There won't be a next time. Chris Keller is dead," Nathan said seriously.

"It was a joke," Haley pointed out.

"So is that the stuff you worked on with Skills?" Nathan asked, pointing to the three CDs Haley held in her hands.

"Uh, these two are but this one is songs I'm working on for my album," she replied.

"Can I hear them?" Nathan asked.

"Of course," she replied, coming over and kissing him. "Later."

"What's wrong with now?" Nathan asked, wrinkling his brow at her when he pulled away.

"I'm busy," Haley replied, trying to kiss him again but he held her away so she couldn't which provoked a frustrated groan from her.

"Doing what?" he asked, smirking.

"Isn't it obvious?" Haley asked, pushing his hands off of her shoulders and kissing him again.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Nathan asked when they reached his bedroom.

"Yes," she replied, pushing him down onto the bed.

He smiled up at her when she climbed on top of him and met her again in a slew of kisses until they finally melted into each other.

They made one hell of a team.


	20. Chapter 20

**Chapter Twenty**

After that night things changed between them. The past had not been forgotten, but it had been forgiven and they started anew.

Four and a half months later, Nathan was standing in front of a mirror attempting to tie a bowtie around the neck of his dress shirt, getting ready as fast as he could for the ceremony that would begin in a half hour.

"You know, it'd be a lot faster if you just asked someone for help," his brother informed him, announcing his presence in the room.

"Haley is the one that usually helps me," Nathan replied.

"Well, that's too bad because the bride and groom aren't supposed to see each other before the wedding. Bad luck," Lucas reminded him, amused with annoyance.

"What a load of bull," Nathan remarked.

"Haley believes it," Lucas said.

"Only because her maids of honour filled her head with all that superstitious garbage," Nathan snapped, annoyed with Brooke and Peyton for messing with his fiancée's head. "We saw each other on our first wedding day."

"And look how that ended," Lucas joked.

It had ended with divorce.

"Are you here for a reason?" Nathan asked.

"Brooke insisted that I should keep you company," Lucas replied.

Nathan looked at him curiously. "Really?"

Lucas nodded but with further glaring from Nathan, he finally sighed. "And Peyton said someone should keep an eye on you," he added.

Nathan stared at him incredulously. "Does she think I'll go AWOL on Haley or something?" he demanded angrily. He hadn't gotten back together with the love of his life just to walk out on her on their wedding day.

His brother looked at him uncomfortably in the mirror. "You don't want to know what she said."

"Why does your partner still hate me?" Nathan asked.

"She doesn't hate you," Lucas replied instantly and an eye roll was his brother's initial response.

"Could've fooled me." Nathan snorted.

"She's just being herself. I mean, you should've heard some of the things she was saying to Haley," Lucas added, smiling in amusement as he recalled how his best friend had responded to Peyton's jibes.

"A pregnant Peyton is a mean Peyton," Nathan concluded.

"Yup," Lucas agreed.

"How is Haley doing?" Nathan asked curiously.

"When I left, Brooke was doing some last-minute adjustments to the train of her dress and she seemed fine," Lucas replied.

Nathan looked at him carefully. "Was she nervous?" he asked.

Luke smiled. "She was excited, Nathan," he said, curbing his brother's insecurity.

"Really?"

"She was beaming the entire time I was there." Lucas nodded.

"Good," Nathan said, his proud smile widening into a grin, "I can't wait either."

"You've had two ceremonies before, Nathan," Lucas pointed out. "The third time's a charm."

He glared at him in annoyance. "This will be the last wedding for the both of us," Nathan promised.

"You two are going to work out this time," Lucas said seriously.

Nathan smirked. "Of course we are because I'm not going to screw it up this time."

"What if another Rachel comes along?" Lucas asked, leaning forward in his chair.

"I lived without Haley for six years, Luke," Nathan reminded him.

"And?" Lucas shrugged.

"I'm not going back to that life," Nathan replied simply but with a deep sense of conviction.

"Haley, would you hold still for God sakes?" Brooke demanded in frustration as the bride once again squirmed in her dress, thus causing Brooke to stick her finger with her sewing needle.

"If you hurry the hell up," Haley replied irritably.

"I'm almost done," Brooke insisted.

"That's what you said last time and here we still are ten minutes later," Haley reminded her.

Brooke stopped what she was doing and glared up at Haley. "Do you want a dress at all?"

"What's that supposed to mean?" Haley asked, rising to the challenge.

"It's supposed to mean that I have a pair of scissors in my hand," Brooke said, holding up the scissors as proof. "All I have to do is snip, snip, snip and poof: no more dress."

"And all I have to do is punch you in the face; you'll be out cold and in need of a nose job," Haley retorted, raising a balled fist. "Shred the dress. I dare you."

Brooke fell quiet as if she was actually thinking Haley's threat over. Then she remembered she had been hit by the girl before- in senior year after Haley found out that Brooke and Rachel were the ones that had stolen her key to the tutor center's copy of tests which had gotten her fired as a tutor- and it had hurt like hell.

"I'm almost done," she said meekly and then went back to her task.

"That's what I thought," Haley smirked.

"I keep seeing more of Nathan's personality in you every day," Peyton Jagielski remarked from her seat in the far corner of the room.

Haley glanced at her in the mirror. "You make that sound like a bad thing," she said.

Peyton chuckled. "It is bad, Hales," she confirmed.

"What's wrong with Nathan?" Brooke asked.

"Never mind," Peyton said as her face suddenly went red. "I'm just being mean." She shrugged the conversation off and glanced down at her pregnancy bump. "This is going to be the death of me."

"Actually, that will go away a while after the baby's born," Brooke said.

"I meant being pregnant- hormones and all that," Peyton replied.

"You'll be fine," Haley said.

"I'm cranky all the time and I'm even more opinionated than ever before," Peyton babbled.

"I didn't think that was possible," Haley chuckled.

"I could mouth off to the wrong person, piss them off so much that they slit my throat and I'll be dead," Peyton continued.

"Now, you're just being ridiculous," Brooke said, finally standing up. "I'm done."

"Why am I being ridiculous?" Peyton asked.

"Because your crankiness has had one target in particular and if Nathan hasn't slit your throat by now, I doubt anyone else will," Haley replied.

"Peyton, come here and let me look your dress over one last time while we still have time," Brooke said.

Peyton scoffed. "I'll stand up when it's time for Haley to walk down that aisle and not a moment sooner."

"But your dress-" Brooke protested.

"-is fine." Peyton finished for her with a menacing glare.

"You should get up now," Haley said.

"Why?" Both girls asked.

"Because it's time for me to get married," Haley said.

"Again," Brooke added in amusement.

Nathan walked two steps forward to meet his bride at the end of her long trek down the aisle and clasped her hand in his as they walked up to the priest together.

"You look beautiful," he whispered in her ear as he pecked her on the cheek.

"So do you," Haley returned, smiling as he rolled his eyes at the feminine description of his appearance. "Oh, sorry, I mean you look handsome."

"Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to witness the union of this man and this woman in holy matrimony," Father Tomas began slowly. "This ceremony is celebration of the commitment that Nathan and Haley have promised to make to each other. They will, through their vows, promise to honour and love each other forever."

"We've stood here together before," Nathan started, glancing up at her to find that there were already tears in her eyes. "And while I vowed to love you always and forever then, I know that I didn't honour that promise. I didn't think that I deserved another chance. The fact that you gave me one after what I did tells me that this relationship is worth fighting for, worth having."

"And that the things that matter the most are the things worth fighting for." Nathan handed her a Kleenex which she grudgingly accepted because she hated crying in public. "So I want to thank you for fighting. I love you, Hales."

"You saved my life," Haley said simply. "Eight years ago when you asked me to marry you and again, when you let me stay with you while I was hiding. You make me feel safe and brave."

A few minutes went by as Haley continued to cry tears of joy. "I love you too, Nathan."

Rings were exchanged.

"With this ring, I thee wed," both Nathan and Haley repeated after the priest as they simultaneously slipped golden rings on the other's ring finger.

"I now pronounce you husband and wife," the priest said.

"Let me stop you right there," Nathan said as he raised his hand in a silencing gesture. "I know this part off by heart." He took two steps forward and anchored Haley to him, kissing her deeply.

"You may continue kissing your bride," the priest said, chuckling in amusement.

THE END


End file.
